WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a matchup featuring seven ties and 13 lead changes, the Boston University men's basketball team came up just short to American, 67-63, on Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena.
 
The Eagles (5-8, 1-1 PL) hit eight of their 10 3-pointers in the second half while forcing nine turnovers during the final 20 minutes of action to snap the Terriers' (7-8, 1-1 PL) four-game win streak. Junior Javante McCoy posted a team-high 17 points with both sophomores Alex Vilarino (13 pts.) and Walter Whyte (12 pts.) reaching double figures.
 
Limited to just 19:40 of playing time due to foul trouble, senior Max Mahoney (15.9 ppg) was +16 while on the court until being whistled for the fifth time at 3:35 in the second half. AU's Jamir Harris went 4-of-8 from behind the arc to lead all players at 19 points, while Sa'eed Nelson nearly had a triple double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.  
 
DOWN THE STRETCH

• Mark Gasperini hit a layup to give American a commanding 54-46 lead with 6:45 remaining.
• Coming out of the timeout, the Terriers went on a 13-5 run over the next 4:30 with McCoy hitting BU's second 3-pointer and later a free throw at 2:15 to tie the game, 59-59.
• Connor Nelson flushed his third trey on the next possession to give the Eagles the lead for good.
• AU added two free throws to push the advantage to 64-59 with 20 seconds remaining in regulation after the Terriers missed a pair of field goal attempts.
• Vilarino hit a layup and the bonus free throw at the six-second mark, but the Eagles were able to inbound the ball and seal the victory on two free throws. 

THE SETUP

• BU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead with McCoy scoring the game's first four points.
• Josh Alexander hit both of his buckets, including one at 11:44, to help the Eagles go on a 10-2 run.
• Neither team led by more than three the rest of the half, as the teams went back and forth on the scoreboard.
• Connor Nelson gave AU a 21-18 advantage with a 3-pointer at 4:21, but the Terriers finished on a 7-2 spurt, as McCoy hit a layup on the half's final possession for 25-23 advantage.
• Vilarino followed up on another McCoy layup with a steal and fastbreak bucket to give BU its largest lead of the game, 37-30, with 15:55 remaining.
• Harris drained back-to-back bombs to erase that deficit and grab a 38-37 lead at 14:13 for the Eagles.
• Mahoney's steal and Vilarino's layup at 10:59 gave BU its final lead of the game, 42-41.
• Jacob Boonyasith retook the lead on one of his two 3-pointers during the next possession for the Eagles. 

GAME NOTES

• With 16 regular season games remaining, the Terriers are now 3-5 in games decided by five points or less after going 2-4 a year prior.
• Mahoney tallied a team-high five rebounds, as the Eagles won the battle at the boards, 36-33.
• BU shot 53.7 FG% in the second half after being limited to 26.9 FG% in the first to finish 22-of-54 (.407), while the Eagles went 23-of-53 (.451.
• The Terriers were limited to a season-low two 3-pointers on 13 attempts.
• American won its fifth straight to cut BU's lead to 9-8 in the all-time series.

NEXT UP: LEHIGH

• BU returns home to host the Mountain Hawks on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 7 p.m.
• The Terriers were swept last season after eliminating Lehigh on the road in the 2018 PL quarterfinals.
• Lehigh pulled out a 94-78 home victory and then edged the Terriers, 84-79, at Case Gym.