Feb. 4, 2011
Box Score | Big Apple Battle Event Information
STONY BROOK, N.Y. - Behind 19 points from junior Darryl Partin and 17 points from senior John Holland, the Boston University men's basketball team defeated Stony Brook, 62-49, on Friday night at Pritchard Gym. Inching one game closer to .500 and staying two games behind league leaders Vermont and Maine, the Terriers improve to 12-13 and 7-4 in America East action.
Leading 26-25 with 19:28 remaining, BU went on an 18-4 run over the next seven minutes. The Seawolves (9-13, 4-6) used the home court advantage to claw their way back within five (50-45) at 5:29, but the Terriers weathered the storm and scored 12 of the game's final 16 points for the victory.
Named America East Player of the Game, junior Patrick Hazel provided the energy for a great defensive effort by the Terriers with a career-high 12 points in the paint along with six rebounds and a block. Freshman Dom Morris posted a game-high eight rebounds, while Holland added seven boards and three steals.
Holding an opponent below 50 points for the first time since a 58-37 win against Marist in November, BU dominated inside the paint with a 32-14 advantage in points and a 39-29 edge in rebounds to earn its third-straight win against the defending regular season champion Seawolves (9-13, 4-6 AE).
Bryan Dougher earned SBU's AE Player of the Game honors with 17 points, while Dave Coley had nine points and six rebounds. The Seawolves hit 41 percent of their attempts in the first half but were held to 31 percent in the second to finish 19-of-53 (.358). On the flip side, the Terriers started cold (4-of-17) but shot 57.1 percent from the field during the final 20 minutes to end the contest 22-of-49 (.449).
A key factor in BU's win was the team's ability to get to the basket in the second half. After taking just two attempts in the first, the Terriers made 14 trips in the second and went 14-of-16 (.875) at the charity stripe. Three men had four fouls, but SBU could never entice a fifth, as the Seawolves shot 6-of-13 (.462) from the line.
In the first half, the game started slowly with freshman Mike Terry Jr. giving BU a 9-4 lead at 13:04 with an offensive rebound and putback. Dougher keyed a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer to push the Seawolves ahead, 11-9. Coley kept the lead at two after a tip-in from Hazel, but Matt Griffin drained a 3-pointer in response.
After Danny Carter hit a trey to tie the game at 22-22 with 1:02 remaining in the half, Hazel scored again with an assist from Griffin to give the Terriers the lead for good and a 24-22 advantage entering the locker room.
Holland scored BU's first six points in the second and Morris added a 3-pointer after a Dougher layup for a 33-27 lead with 17 minutes left. Hazel's dunk five minutes later gave the Terriers their largest lead of the game at 44-29.
Trailing 50-38 with 8:11 remaining, Coley hit a layup and Dougher added five points off a 3-pointer and two made free throws to cut the deficit to five at 5:29. On the ensuing possession, Partin nailed a jumper, and Holland set up Irving for a layup with a steal. The Seawolves only made one field goal the rest of the contest for the loss.
With his 17 points and three steals, Holland continued his march in the program and conference record books. He surpassed former NBA stars Malik Rose and Speedy Claxton for ninth-place all-time in the league with 2,028 points, two shy of No. 8 Mike Pegues. With 190 career steals and six regular season games remaining, he's three away from BU's No. 2 Dwayne Vinson ('86) and 10 behind record-holder LeVar Folk ('99).
Improving to 16-6 in the all-time series against SBU, the Terriers will next face Albany in the Big Apple Battle at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 9:30 p.m. The contest is the second game of a doubleheader with St. John's and UConn first tipping off at 7 p.m.
