Boston University
Holy Cross
Terriers Suffer Narrow Loss At Holy Cross, 65-62
January 2, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2008
WORCESTER, Mass. - For the second consecutive time, the game went down to the wire and the Terriers suffered a narrow loss, falling 65-62 to Holy Cross Wednesday evening in the Hart Center. The Crusaders (8-3) remain perfect at home this season, while BU falls to 3-9 on the year.
The Terriers had another slow start but overcame it to contend with the Crusaders, fighting a see-saw battle throughout the second half that saw six ties and eight lead changes and each team more than doubling their first-half point total.
Sophomore guard Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass.) led BU with a game-best 20 points, scoring 14 in the second half and going 5-for-10 from three for the game. Classmate Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine) followed with 18 points on 6-of-10 from the floor (5-for-9 from deep) and a career-high six assists. Sophomore Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont.) tallied 15 points and eight rebounds. Pat Doherty led Holy Cross with 20 points.
Holy Cross took a 29-21 lead coming out of the break on threes by Tim Clifford and Colin Cunningham, but BU stayed with the Crusaders and retook the lead at 12:46 on a three-point play by Strong after he was fouled on a dunk. The Terriers had a much better half shooting in the second, going 12-for-22 (54.5 pct.) from the floor. After that the teams traded narrow one- and two-point leads for the next seven minutes before Holy Cross took the largest advantage either team maintained in the second half, 56-49, on a lay-in by Alex Vander Baan.
The Crusaders stayed just ahead of the Terriers after a pair of Strong 3-pointers and two free throws from Brittain cut the lead to 58-56 with 25 seconds to go in the game. Lowe made a pair of clutch free throws with four seconds remaining to keep Holy Cross's lead at three, 62-59, but the Crusaders went 3-for-4 from the line as time wound down to claim the win despite a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Lowe.
BU went 5:32 without a basket to start the game. Sophomore John Holland (Bronx, N.Y.) hit the Terriers' first field goal - a jumper at 14:22. Holy Cross ran out to a 12-2 lead at 12:47 after a backdoor inbounds pass to Clifford. BU trimmed the Crusaders' advantage to 15-10 on a triple by Strong at 8:58, and a four-minute scoring drought by Holy Cross allowed BU to tie the game at 17 on a transition layup by Brittain at 4:27.
The Terriers got out-rebounded to start the contest but evened it out on the boards during BU's rally. Lowe gave Boston University its first lead of the game on a deep three with 30 seconds remaining in the half. The Terriers held Holy Cross scoreless from the floor over the final 11:20 of the first frame, but the Crusaders made six consecutive free throws to take a 21-20 edge into halftime.
BU begins the America East slate on Sunday, Jan. 6 at Binghamton at 2 p.m.
