Boston University Faces Lafayette In Patriot League Quarterfinals
By Gregory Hunt
The Boston University men's basketball team is traveling to Easton, Pennsylvania this week to face the Lafayette Leopards Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament. With identical 9-9 conference records, BU and Lafayette tied for fourth place in the regular season. The teams split the season series, but Lafayette's 84-74 overtime win over No. 1 Bucknell gave the Leopards the tiebreaker for the No. 4 seed. The Terriers lost both games to Bucknell, 92-77 at home and 78-69 on the road, so they settled for the #5 seed.
In the season series between BU and Lafayette, each team won on the other team's home court. At Agganis Arena on January 10, Lafayette junior guard Zach Rufer drove the baseline from the left corner to hit a game-winning layup with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation. The loss snapped BU's four-game winning streak, which was its longest of the season. Sophomore guard Cedrick Hankerson led the Terriers with 18 points while junior guard John Papale added 11 points and five assists and junior forward Justin Alston chipped in four blocks and 12 rebounds. BU went to the foul line only 11 times after averaging almost 24 trips per game during its winning streak.
The Terriers bounced back against the Leopards at Kirby Sports Center on February 9, coming away with a 74-60 victory in a game that was shown on national television by the CBS Sports Network. BU rushed out to a 48-39 lead at halftime then used a swarming defense to hold Lafayette to only six field goals in the second half. Papale led the Terriers with 14 points, including four three-pointers, while freshman guard Cheddi Mosely and sophomore guard Eric Fanning each added 13 points. Junior guard Nathan Dieudonne also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Boston University joined the Patriot League at the beginning of the 2013-14 season after spending the previous 34 seasons in the America East Conference. In BU's first season in the Patriot League, it earned the No. 1 seed in the post-season tournament by virtue of its 15-3 conference record. However, after beating Lafayette 91-54 in the quarterfinals and Army 91-70 in the semifinals, the Terriers lost to American 55-36 in the championship game.
During its time in American East, the Terriers won the conference tournament six times, most-recently in 2011 when they defeated Stoney Bronk in the championship game 56-54 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Overall, the Terriers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times. Their only wins in the tournament came in their first NCAA appearance in 1959, when BU defeated UConn 60-58 in the Regional Quarterfinals and Navy 62-55 in the Regional Semifinals before losing to West Virginia 86-82 in the Regional Finals.
The Terriers have also qualified for the NIT six times, including last season when they lost to Illinois 66-62 in the First Round. Boston University has never won a game in the NIT.
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
