After embarrassing Boston University on their own court in the Patriot League Championship game last season, AU fell at the hands of the Terriers 59-54 on Jan. 21. The Eagles came out sluggish and never led the entire game. After a Charlie Jones layup with 2:03 left in the in the first half, the Eagles cut their deficit to just one point with a score of 25-24. However, that is as close as they would get. With inconsistent play throughout, the Eagles dropped to 4-3 in Patriot League play and 11-8 overall. Here are some observations from the game:
1. Slow starts to both halves killed Eagles
While playing well down the stretch to keep the game tight, AU ultimately sealed their fate with some horrible basketball to start both halves. BU scored the first seven points of the game and had a 11-2 lead by the 15:07 mark of the first half. During that span, AU went 1-6 from the field with two turnovers and four fouls, including two on John Schoof. Foul trouble forced Schoof to sit 16 minutes in the first half and kept him out of rhythm the entire game. After the Eagles made a run to cut it to three at the end of the half, an even worse second half start prevented any realistic comeback opportunity. The Terriers went on a 12-0 run to start the second half and built a 15-point lead. During this four minute stretch, the Eagles went 0-2 from the field with three turnovers. With a slow style of play, the Eagles cannot afford to let their opponents jump out to such large leads. This game was the perfect example of this, and AU ultimately paid the price.
2. Bad breaks down the stretch
While playing poorly for most of the game, the Eagles did have their share of chances to take the lead. Strong play at the end of both halves helped rally the Eagles to within three after a Jesse Reed layup with 2:14 remaining. The Eagles had a chance to get within one point, as Reed came off a cut for an off-balance layup attempt that went halfway down before ultimately falling out. The very next play, Reed stole the ball on Boston’s inbound attempt and was forced to pass to sophomore guard Jalen Rhea while fading out-of-bounds. Unfortunately, Rhea took his eye of the ball for a second and, as a result, muffed it, and the Terriers recovered. Had Reed been able to convert on his late layup attempt and had Rhea not lost the ball, there might be a different result. Then again, it would be wrong to blame one play in particular after the previously mentioned terrible starts to both halves.
3. A Serbian silver-lining
While BU served the Eagles a tough loss, a bright spot did emerge for AU. Junior forward Marco Vasic played his best game as an Eagle putting up a career high 14 points on 5-7 shooting and 2-3 from downtown. Vasic also grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and had one steal. Had it not been for his solid performance off the bench, the outcome of this game would have been ugly. Vasic’s play has been up and down all season. He has always been a great cutter, but has been inconsistent on jump shots, especially free throws and three pointers. On a team that has struggled to get production from its bench, Vasic provided a spark. While not being able to help AU get the win Wednesday night, Vasic’s performance may give some momentum to himself and the rest of the team going forward.
