Boston University sinks Navy 69-63 to advance to the Patriot League semifinals

Boston University staged a late rally to pull out a 69-63 victory over Navy in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League tournament on Thursday night at Case Gym.

The Terriers improved to 19-13 overall and 13-6 in the league. BU will host Bucknell, which upset No. 2 seed American, in the conference semifinals on Sunday at noon. Guard Javante McCoy led BU with 19 while forwards Walter Whyte and Max Mahoney combined 27 points and 18 rebounds.

Whyte opened the second half with a 3-ball from off the key. The Terriers cut the lead to 38-37 on a Mahoney put-back with 16:26 to play.

The Midshipmen emerged from the first media timeout and scored six unanswered points. Freshman forward Tyler Nelson finished the spurt with a transition dunk to make it 44-37 with 13:36 on the clock. McCoy scored on a drive and a jumper to cut Navy’s lead to 46-41 with 11:23 to play.

BU took its first lead since early in the first when Whyte converted a 3-point play to make 47-46 with 9:40 remaining. After an exchange of treys, McCoy scored on a drive and one to put the Terriers up 53-49 at the third media timeout. Both teams clamped down on the defensive end. Whyte put the Terriers up 57-52 on a slammer off a turnover at 5:19.

Sophomore guard Jonas Harper drained consecutive treys to give BU a 63-56 lead with 2:21 remaining. Nelson followed with a put-back, but made two from the line. Navy cut the lead to 65-61 on a 3-pointer from guard Cam Davis with 1:35 to play. Greg Summers made it a two-point game with a put-back, but McCoy countered with a jumper with 42 seconds to play. McCoy clinched it with two from line with 21 seconds remaining.

Both camps struggled with turnovers and sloppy ball handling in the opening minutes before settling into their offenses.

Navy went ahead on pair for free throws, but BU responded with five unanswered points to go up 5-2 into the first media timeout.

The Midshipmen came out of the huddle and scored on six straight possessions to go up 15-5 with 12:07 to play. Center Evan Wieck scored on consecutive layups while guard Cam Davis supplied a nifty runner off the glass.

BU sophomore forward Jack Hemphill slowed the Navy surge with a 3-pointer. McCoy nailed a pull-up jumper to cut Navy’s lead to 17-10.

Navy took a 22-10 lead on a tip by Wieck and a corner trey by junior guard John Carter Jr. with 7:39 to play. BU regrouped with an 11-5 run to cut the lead to 27-21 and prompted Navy coach Ed DeChellis to call timeout with 2:51 remaining. Mahoney capped the surge with a transition dunk.

Mahoney scored on a put-back with a free throw with seven seconds on the board to cut the Midshipmen’s lead to 31-27 at the intermission.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/39ug7yf