Terriers Knock Off Oregon State, 96-78; BU Earns First Postseason Win Since 1959
BU to host Morehead State on Monday
Senior Carlos Strong became the 30th Terrier to eclipse the 1,000-point mark

Senior Carlos Strong became the 30th Terrier to eclipse the 1,000-point mark

March 17, 2010

Final Stats | Postgame Comments | TV Highlights

CORVALLIS, Ore. - John Holland scored a game-high 26 points and Carlos Strong added 22 to lead the Boston University men's basketball team to a 96-78 victory at Oregon State on Wednesday night in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. With their first postseason win since 1959, the Terriers improve to 20-13 and will next host the Ohio Valley Conference's Morehead State (24-10) on Monday in the quarterfinals.

Playing against its first Pac-10 opponent since the 2002-03 season, BU briefly trailed 5-0 against the defending CBI champion Beavers before going on a 12-4 run to take the lead for good. With an earlier victory against Indiana, first-year head coach Patrick Chambers earned his second win of the season against a major conference opponent, a feat last accomplished by the Terriers during the 1986-87 season.

Featuring the America East's top scoring offense, BU dissected the Beavers' renowned 1-3-1 zone defense for a season-high 96 points. Topping their previous season-best in fastbreak points by 14 with 26 total, the Terriers recorded a season-high 22 assists against 14 turnovers and had five players score in double figures for the third time this season.They shot 38-for-67 (.567) and 12-for-32 (.375) from beyond the arc.

A two-time first-team All-America East honoree, Holland went 11-for-16 and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, while Strong hit nine field goals off 18 attempts to become the 30th Terrier to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. Tyler Morris was a perfect 4-for-4 in 3-pointers to finish with 18 points, and Corey Lowe (12 pts.) tied a career-high in assists with nine to surpass Brett Brown ('83) for fifth all-time in assists at BU (404). Jeff Pelage posted a game-high 10 rebounds and had a career-high three steals.


 

 

Jared Cunningham led OSU (14-18) with 21 points, while Joe Burton had seven rebounds. Both Calvin Haynes and Lathen Wallace recorded 15 points each, and Roeland Schaftenaar added 12 more in the team's second-worst home loss of the year. The Beavers shot 24-for-56 (.429) and won the rebound battle, 37-33.

Ahead 19-17 with 11:22 remaining in the first half, Pelage scored four consecutive points to ignite a 23-4 run that that included four three-pointers and two dunks that left the Beavers stunned. In one segment, Morris drained a 3-pointer and hit another one 10 seconds later when Strong picked the ball away from Burton and then heaved a pass cross-court to his classmate.

Holding a 46-27 lead at the half, Morris scored BU's first five points and then assisted on Holland's trey to keep the momentum going and prevent any chance of a OSU rally. Eventually, the lead was pushed to as high as 28 with 6:31 remaining in the contest.

The Terriers' offense could not be stopped in the second, as the team shot a stifling 62.5 percent while finishing with a season-high 44 points in the paint. BU went 26-for-35 (.743) inside the 3-point line against the Beavers to extend an already team-record 33 games played to 34. BU also recorded its 20th win of the season, marking the program's 12th overall 20+ win season and first since 2004-05.

Strong's performance gives the Terriers three active 1,000-point scorers. Holland alone has 634 points on the season, the second most ever recorded by a Terrier. The program's No. 3 all-time scorer Lowe with 1,805 points hit one 3-pointer to move into a tie-for-second in the America East for career made 3-pointers at 313.

BU will next face off against Morehead State in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Eagles defeated Colorado State, 74-60, at home earlier in the night. Tip-off time for Monday's game at Case Gymnasium is still to be determined.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY HEAD COACH Patrick Chambers
"It's a great challenge to motivate young kids. Everyone dreams of going to the NCAA tourney, and we were heartbroken for two days. When we got invited to play here, I think we got energized again. We've got nine seniors, we don't want to be done yet, we want to keep playing."

On the practice they had when they got in...
"We had one of our best practices here, for whatever reason. I think what it is, is that the guys like each other and they want to keep playing."

On how they were able to beat Oregon State's zone defense...
"I watched a ton of tape. It's a scary zone. We were trying to take Seth Tarver out of the game. We did a good job of it. Our guys played hard."

BOSTON UNIVERSITY JUNIOR John Holland
On what this win means...
"We wanted to be together and keep playing. We know it's not the NCAAs or anything, but anytime we step on the floor, we want to play hard."