March 7, 2010
Final Stats | Postseason Central
Postgame Comments - I | II | III
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Trailing 53-48 with 6:42 remaining, the Boston University men's basketball team went on a 13-3 run and then held off a late Stony Brook charge for a 70-63 America East Championship semifinal victory Sunday afternoon at Hartford University. Earning their first trip to the title game since 2003, the five-time champion Terriers (19-12) will next travel to Vermont (24-9) on Saturday (March 13) for a 12 p.m. tip-off on ESPN2.
After tallying 26 points against Hartford in the quarterfinals, Corey Lowe continued his strong play with a game-high 24 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Carlos Strong was two boards shy of a double-double with 15 points, while Jake O'Brien and John Holland each added 10. In their first meeting against the No. 1 seed since falling to Hofstra in 2000, BU went 25-for-61 (.410) and enticed Stony Brook into 19 turnovers while only losing the ball 10 times.
AE Player of the Year Muhammad El-Amin started the game with three 3-pointers en route to 20 points, but also turned the ball over eight times against a stingy Terrier defense. Chris Martin added 11 points and nine rebounds, while Bryan Dougher recorded 16 points. Tommy Brenton finished with a game-high 10 rebounds and seven points. The Seawolves went 22-for-53 (.415) but only shot 10-for-21 (.476) at the charity stripe and won the rebound margin by three, 38-35.
The thrilling and closely contested meeting between the two squads featured multiple runs, starting with top-seeded SBU jumping out to a quick 9-3 lead with 17:34 remaining. The fourth-seeded Terriers responded with a 16-3 run capped by Lowe's trey at 10:35, but SBU cut the deficit to one, 22-21, following Martin's layup off an assist from Dougher with 6:33 remaining.
Both squads exchanged possession of the ball until 4:34 when an open Valdas Sirutis drained a 3-pointer to ignite a 15-0 run. Corey Lowe stuffed an attempted dunk by Dallis Joyner, which led to a layup by Holland. Lowe followed with two more treys, including one from about 30 feet deep with the shot clock expiring. After Dougher's made 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, the Terriers entered the locker room ahead, 37-24.
Their defense forced 12 SBU turnovers and held the Seawolves to 31 percent shooting. BU shot 15-for-30 and 7-for-13 from beyond the arc to take the commanding 13-point lead.
The lead would not last long though, as the Seawolves held the Terriers scoreless for the first five minutes to tie the game at 37 apiece. Dougher drained a trey on the first possession and added another following layups from Dallis Joyner and Chris Martin to cut the deficit to three with 17:18 remaining. Martin then hit a layup and went 1-for-2 at the line at 15:34 to finish the 16-0 run.
After BU started the half 0-for-7, O'Brien hit a jumper to put the Terriers back ahead by two. With the score tied at 41, El-Amin hit a 3-pointer with 12:05 remaining for SBU's first lead since the early part of the first half.
The teams exchanged baskets and trips to the line for the next five minutes with the Seawolves maintaining the small lead until Holland's layup tied the game again (48-48) at 7:34. El-Amin put them back ahead on the ensuing possession with a jumper.
The Seawolves pushed the lead to five after earning four straight trips to the line. Brenton recorded a steal and fed El-Amin, who was then fouled inside. A technical was also charged to BU's bench following the team's eighth foul, and SBU hit three of the four attempts.
Instead of crumbling though, the Terriers fought back, as Jeff Pelage put back in a missed layup from Lowe. El-Amin turned the ball over after being pressured, and Morris drove to the basket for a fastbreak layup.
Following a Dougher 3-pointer, Morris grabbed an offensive rebounded and then hit both of his free throws. Lowe next snatched the ball out of El-Amin's hands and drained a trey to put BU back ahead.
Leading 61-60, Holland drove along the baseline for a layup to push the lead back to three and then following a defensive stop, he fed O'Brien inside for a five-point edge. With Morris' hand in his face, Dougher hit his fifth and final 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining.
Lowe missed a layup attempt but grabbed the offensive board and went up again for the four-point lead. Dougher then double dribbled and forced SBU to send the Terriers to the line. Strong hit both of his free throws, and Lowe added another following a missed 3-pointer from El-Amin for the victory.
The Terriers snap a three-game losing streak to the Seawolves and improve the all-time series lead to 14-6.
They will make their 14th trip to the title game with a 5-8 record and will be facing the Catamounts for just the sixth time in the tournament. In their last meeting for a NCAA berth, Vermont eeked out a thrilling 56-55 win at BU in 2003.
Earlier this season, the Catamounts won 78-58 at home on Jan. 17 and slipped by the Terriers, 76-75, at Agganis Arena on Feb. 9.
Information regarding tickets for the game will be released on Monday.
