Feb. 18, 2008

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BOSTON - The Boston University men's basketball team hopes to rebound from a heart-breaking three-point loss to league-leading UMBC when the Terriers (10-15, 7-6 America East) host Maine on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. in Case Gym. The game between BU and the Black Bears (7-18, 3-9 AE) will be broadcast on NESN.

This is one of BU's oldest rivalries, dating back to the 1902-03 season - a 14-12 loss to Maine. The Terriers hold a 49-38 lead. Over the years, BU has been able to put together more winning streaks than UM, with three strings of seven or more straight wins. The Black Bears' longest streak stands at seven games (from Jan. 30, 1991 to Jan. 28, 1993). BU has won 13 of the last 15 contests, and the Terriers' average margin of victory throughout the rivalry is 10.2 points.

Maine enters Wednesday's contest having lost four of its last five games and is on a two-game slide. The Black Bears are led by Mark Socoby's 10.5 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Maine is 0-6 at home in the conference and 3-3 on the road.

Led by sophomore guard Corey Lowe's (Newton, Mass.) 18.0 ppg, the Terriers will look to start another win streak on Wednesday to close out the regular season. Freshman guard/forward John Holland (Bronx, N.Y.) is the reigning America East Rookie of the Week. He averaged 17.3 ppg last week in three contests, shooting 20-for-39 (.513) from the floor and 8-for-18 (.444) from 3-point range to lead the Terriers to a 2-1 record in their last three games. Sophomore Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont.) is BU's second-leading active scorer with 10.2 ppg and a Terrier-best 6.1 rpg.

In BU's last time out, the Terriers went down to the wire but came up short, dropping a 76-73 decision to UMBC. Lowe scored a team-best 21 points, and UMBC's Ray Barbosa led all scorers with 26 points. The game was a close one from start to finish. UMBC gained a nine-point lead early in the first but was unable to create much separation after BU caught up. The Retrievers and the Terriers traded leads for much of the contest, recording seven ties and 19 lead changes. However, UMBC went 5-for-6 from the line in the final 30 seconds and forced two crucial turnovers to claim the win.

The Terriers play their last non-conference game of the season when they head to St. Peter's on Feb. 23 to square off against the Peacocks at 2 p.m. Both teams were part of the Bracketbusters pool.