Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Playing in front of a hometown crowd, freshman John Holland (Bronx, N.Y.) calmly drained both free throws in a one-and-one with four seconds left to preserve a Boston University lead, as the Terriers (12-15) held off St. Peter's (6-21), 67-64, Saturday afternoon in the Yanitelli Center.

Sophomore guard Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass.) led BU with 22 points. Holland (Bronx, N.Y.) added 18 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont.) contributed 14 points and nine rebounds. Wesley Jenkins turned in a 27-point performance to lead all scorers.

Lowe came into the game needing three 3-pointers to take over the top spot in BU's single-season 3-pointer list. The sophomore went 6-for-14 from deep on the afternoon to finish the game with 83 triples for the season and pass Mark Daly's record of 79.

BU came out flat in both halves and had trouble defending the three, but the Terriers came up with the offense when it mattered, sinking a wide-open two-foot layup with 13 seconds left when they were down one and making two free throws with four seconds left to hold onto the win.

Saint Peter's scored the first six points of the second half on two three-point conversions, but BU tied the game at 36 on a fast-break layup by Lowe off a steal at 17:38. Jenkins knocked down back-to-back threes to send SPC out to a 44-36 lead at 14:19. A Lowe trey at 13:57 ended a four-minute BU dry spell, but Jenkins hit a 3-pointer to keep the Peacocks ahead, 47-39 at 13:09.

BU cut it to four, 56-52, on a layup by red-shirt junior Matt Wolff (Walpole, Mass.) at 7:50, but Darrell Lampley drained a three to extend SPC's advantage to 59-54 at 6:38. The Terriers fought back and trimmed the Peacocks' edge to two, 61-59, at 3:25 after a 3-pointer by Holland. Jenkins made his ninth three with 2:13 to go, but Wolff was left alone just underneath the basket, and he dropped in a layup with 13.0 showing on the clock to put the Terriers back on top, 65-64. Holland then made his free throws for the final margin.

The Terriers picked up their shooting in the second half (42.4 percent) to shoot 37.9 percent for the game. BU had 18 assists to eight turnovers and 11 steals. BU forced a total of 19 Peacock errors and scored 21 points off those turnovers.

Boston University scored its first 15 points on five straight 3-pointers by Holland and Lowe. But a lack of defensive pressure by Terriers allowed St. Peter's to hang right with BU and take the lead, 20-19, on a triple by Lampley at 9:57. BU answered with a steal and fast-break layup, but Lampley dropped in a floater at 8:55 to retake the lead, 22-21.

BU did force nine first-half turnovers and got 11 points off those miscues, but the Terriers allowed the Peacocks to shoot 50.0 percent from the floor (12-for-24) and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from three, with Jenkins accounting for five of those 3-pointers.

The Terriers suffered a four-minute scoring drought before running out to a 28-22 advantage on a steal and fast-break layup by junior Marques Johnson (Hazlet, N.J.) at 4:08. But that edge nearly evaporated with a pair of late Jenkins threes. BU went into the locker room up 31-30.

BU returns to conference action on Thursday, Feb. 28 when the Terriers host Hartford in Case Gym at 7 p.m. in BU's final regular-season home game.