Men's Basketball vs. Vermont (1/25/08)
by Ryan Matsuura
With Corey Lowe still on the sidelines nursing a sore knee, the Terriers’ offensive woes continued. Many players were forced to play out of position, and tried to do a little bit too much. The Terriers fell to the University of Vermont Catamounts 70-57, falling to 2-8 at Agganis Arena, their home-away-from-home. However, BU showed a defensive intensity that did not show up in the box scores and certainly impressed head coach Dennis Wolff.
“I thought our guys played hard,” said Wolff, whose Terriers dropped to 2-5 in America East play and 5-14 overall. “We played really hard. It’s no secret that we’re struggling offensively. We had a point in the game when it was really difficult for us to get points.”
The problem for BU was the gamely, inevitable scoring drought came at the most crucial time in the game. With the Terriers down 52-49 with 5:46 left, the Catamounts outscored BU 18-8 to close out the game.
“We have to give credit to Vermont,” said Wolff. “They’re a good team, a smart team. I thought that [Vermont forward Marqus] Blakely played very well inside. He played with a little more composure at crucial times when we made mistakes that hurt us. I’d give us an A for effort. We still need to find a way to play better offensive basketball.”
The Terriers continually doubled Blakely ever since the word “go.” Blakely, who had 17 points and 18 rebounds, panicked early in the game, committing five turnovers in the first half, but played error-free basketball in the last 20 minutes. During Vermont’s 18-8 run, he attentively waited for the double to come and passed out to open shooters. Vermont ended up shooting 47% from the field, including 6-12 from outside the arc.
“We wanted to try to double him, but as the game went along [Blakely] made a lot of good plays,” said Wolff. “He’s a great player. Our guys fought defensively. We got worn down a little bit and the fouls hurt us.”
The first 20 minutes of the game looked very promising for BU. They took a 25-24 lead into the first half, with sophomores Scott Brittain and Carlos Strong each scoring nine points. BU forced 12 Catamount turnovers and Ibrahim Konante had three momentum-changing blocks, including two stuffs at the rim at the hands of Blakely and Timothy McCrory.
But Brittain was held scoreless for the remainder of the game, and only connected on one of his five field goal attempts all night. Without production from the Terriers only low post threat, the pressure continually mounts on shooters Strong, Tyler Morris and John Holland.
“Our problems are offensive right now,” said Wolff. “We can’t go through a game and not get one post basket. It’s going to be impossible to win if that’s the case. We have to get Scott [Brittain] going.”
In the second half, Holland took things into his own hands and attacked Blakely off the dribble. He attacked the rim to score 13 second half points on 5-12 shooting. He also led the Terriers with 7 rebounds.
Morris tied Holland with a team-leading 13 points, with nine coming at the charity stripe. But like other Terriers, Morris continued to struggle from the field, not connecting on any of his three 3-point attempts and going 2-9 from the field.
“They tried to pressure me a lot. They tried to get the ball out of my hands, in the first half especially,” said Morris.
“I let the team down a little bit, just my play in general. I’ll come to games, play well some games and in the next, revert back to old habits. People keep telling me I’m just coming back. But I’ve had time to come back and I have my timing down. There are no excuses for me anymore. I can’t have lapses like that when I’m playing basketball.”
Despite losing their third consecutive game at home, Wolff was very encouraged by the effort and remained positive on the sidelines. Fueled by the energy of the Agganis Arena crowd, the Terriers’ defensive intensity was a huge positive, but the absence of Lowe continues to handicap an offense that has struggled nearly the entire year.
“We have played three games without our leading scorer, Lowe. In fairness to Tyler [Morris], he didn’t play the entire first semester,” said Wolff. “What we have offensively is that we have a whole mix, almost like a perfect storm, of bad things. We’re not getting any baskets in the lane. We’re asking other guys that they are trying to do, but it’s taking away from the things they should be doing.
“The kids tried really hard tonight. There are still a lot of games in this league to be won. We’re going to keep moving on. We’re going to look at the positives and improve when we get back to it on Monday.”
The Terriers hit the road this Wednesday to take on the Maine Black Bears who are also 2-5 in America East play. The next WTBU broadcast is on February 9 at 1 PM when the Terriers host Stony Brook. Terriers Today will start at 12:40.
TERRIERS NOTES:
- The Terriers outrebounded Vermont 19-16 in the first half, but were outrebounded for the game 40-32.
- Vermont’s Blakely and Mike Trimboli each picked up technical fouls in the second half.
- 3,023 people attended the Terriers’ tenth game at Agganis Arena.
- The Terriers’ 13 3pt field goal attempts was a season-low.
With Corey Lowe still on the sidelines nursing a sore knee, the Terriers’ offensive woes continued. Many players were forced to play out of position, and tried to do a little bit too much. The Terriers fell to the University of Vermont Catamounts 70-57, falling to 2-8 at Agganis Arena, their home-away-from-home. However, BU showed a defensive intensity that did not show up in the box scores and certainly impressed head coach Dennis Wolff.
“I thought our guys played hard,” said Wolff, whose Terriers dropped to 2-5 in America East play and 5-14 overall. “We played really hard. It’s no secret that we’re struggling offensively. We had a point in the game when it was really difficult for us to get points.”
The problem for BU was the gamely, inevitable scoring drought came at the most crucial time in the game. With the Terriers down 52-49 with 5:46 left, the Catamounts outscored BU 18-8 to close out the game.
“We have to give credit to Vermont,” said Wolff. “They’re a good team, a smart team. I thought that [Vermont forward Marqus] Blakely played very well inside. He played with a little more composure at crucial times when we made mistakes that hurt us. I’d give us an A for effort. We still need to find a way to play better offensive basketball.”
The Terriers continually doubled Blakely ever since the word “go.” Blakely, who had 17 points and 18 rebounds, panicked early in the game, committing five turnovers in the first half, but played error-free basketball in the last 20 minutes. During Vermont’s 18-8 run, he attentively waited for the double to come and passed out to open shooters. Vermont ended up shooting 47% from the field, including 6-12 from outside the arc.
“We wanted to try to double him, but as the game went along [Blakely] made a lot of good plays,” said Wolff. “He’s a great player. Our guys fought defensively. We got worn down a little bit and the fouls hurt us.”
The first 20 minutes of the game looked very promising for BU. They took a 25-24 lead into the first half, with sophomores Scott Brittain and Carlos Strong each scoring nine points. BU forced 12 Catamount turnovers and Ibrahim Konante had three momentum-changing blocks, including two stuffs at the rim at the hands of Blakely and Timothy McCrory.
But Brittain was held scoreless for the remainder of the game, and only connected on one of his five field goal attempts all night. Without production from the Terriers only low post threat, the pressure continually mounts on shooters Strong, Tyler Morris and John Holland.
“Our problems are offensive right now,” said Wolff. “We can’t go through a game and not get one post basket. It’s going to be impossible to win if that’s the case. We have to get Scott [Brittain] going.”
In the second half, Holland took things into his own hands and attacked Blakely off the dribble. He attacked the rim to score 13 second half points on 5-12 shooting. He also led the Terriers with 7 rebounds.
Morris tied Holland with a team-leading 13 points, with nine coming at the charity stripe. But like other Terriers, Morris continued to struggle from the field, not connecting on any of his three 3-point attempts and going 2-9 from the field.
“They tried to pressure me a lot. They tried to get the ball out of my hands, in the first half especially,” said Morris.
“I let the team down a little bit, just my play in general. I’ll come to games, play well some games and in the next, revert back to old habits. People keep telling me I’m just coming back. But I’ve had time to come back and I have my timing down. There are no excuses for me anymore. I can’t have lapses like that when I’m playing basketball.”
Despite losing their third consecutive game at home, Wolff was very encouraged by the effort and remained positive on the sidelines. Fueled by the energy of the Agganis Arena crowd, the Terriers’ defensive intensity was a huge positive, but the absence of Lowe continues to handicap an offense that has struggled nearly the entire year.
“We have played three games without our leading scorer, Lowe. In fairness to Tyler [Morris], he didn’t play the entire first semester,” said Wolff. “What we have offensively is that we have a whole mix, almost like a perfect storm, of bad things. We’re not getting any baskets in the lane. We’re asking other guys that they are trying to do, but it’s taking away from the things they should be doing.
“The kids tried really hard tonight. There are still a lot of games in this league to be won. We’re going to keep moving on. We’re going to look at the positives and improve when we get back to it on Monday.”
The Terriers hit the road this Wednesday to take on the Maine Black Bears who are also 2-5 in America East play. The next WTBU broadcast is on February 9 at 1 PM when the Terriers host Stony Brook. Terriers Today will start at 12:40.
TERRIERS NOTES:
- The Terriers outrebounded Vermont 19-16 in the first half, but were outrebounded for the game 40-32.
- Vermont’s Blakely and Mike Trimboli each picked up technical fouls in the second half.
- 3,023 people attended the Terriers’ tenth game at Agganis Arena.
- The Terriers’ 13 3pt field goal attempts was a season-low.
posted by Chris Aliano at
8:57 PM
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