Terrier Notes: BU vs. George Washington University

By Seth Orensky

Game # 2
George Washington (1-0, 0-0) vs Boston University (0-1, 0-0)
Tuesday November 17, 2009
7:00 p.m. –Agganis Arena- Boston, Massachusetts

BU Projected Starters

Tyler Morris, Sr, G,  21 points, 2 steals per game

Corey Lowe, Sr, G, 16 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds per game

John Holland, Jr, F, 17 points, 6 rebounds per game

Valdas Sirutis, Sr, F, 6 rebounds per game

Jake O’Brien So, F, 7 points, 4 rebounds per game

Likely Substitutes:

Carlos Strong, Sr, G, 12 points, 11 rebounds per game

Jeff Pelage, So, F, 3 rebounds per game

Sherrod Smith, Sr, G, 1 rebound, 4 mins played per game

GW Projected Starters

Tony Taylor, So, G, 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds per game

Lasan Kromah, Fr, G, 8 points, 2 rebounds per game

Tim Johnson, Fr, G, 11 points, 2 rebounds per game

Damian Hollis, Sr, F, 8 points, 1 rebound per game

Joseph Katuka, Jr, C, 5 rebounds per game

Likely Substitutes:

David Pellom, Fr, F, 11 points, 5 rebounds per game

Aaron Ware, So, G, 16 points, 6 rebounds per game

Jabari Edwards, SO, F, 4 points, 6 rebounds per game

Boston University returns home for its season opener against a George Washington program they’ve had little success against in the past. The Terriers (0-1), who fell to Iona Friday night 82-73, look to get their first win of the season at Agganis Arena Tuesday night. Head Coach Patrick Chambers looks to lead BU to just its second win all time against George Washington in 18 contest since the teams first played in 1958-59.

The two teams faced off last year in BU’s season opener at Agganis Arena, with GW defeating the Terriers in overtime 63-58. BU fell behind early in the contest 12-2 before fighting back and taking a five point lead into halftime. Poor shooting in the second half and overtime cost the Terriers as they needed a Corey Lowe (’10) layup with 2.7 seconds to go to get to overtime and then went only 1-7 from the field in overtime. The layup was one Lowe’ s lowly two field goals on the night, as the senior guard went just 2-15 from the field with seven points. John Holland (’11) led all scorers with 22 points and Carlos Strong ('10) chipped in 14 points off the bench. In the contest, BU managed to shoot only 29.7% from the field, but also forced 26 Colonial turnovers.

GW is led by Coach Karl Hobbs, who is in his ninth year in D.C. after spending six years as an assistant coach at BU (1988-1993). Hobbs is 6-0 versus his former team, including 2-0 against the Terriers at Agganis Arena. The Colonials were selected to finish 13th in the Atlantic Ten Conference after finishing 13th in the conference last year with a 10-18 record. Damian Hollis is the top returning scorer for the Colonials, who defeated the University of North Carolina Wilmington Sunday night 76-71. In that contest, sophomore Aaron Ware led all GW players with 16 points and 6 rebounds. The Colonials really struggled from the free throw line hitting just 45.1% of their free throw attempts. One thing the Terriers have to watch out for is Hobbs’ record when leading with 5 minutes to play in the second half: 109-8. BU fell behind Iona early in the second half and tried to fight their way back, but could never take the lead back against Iona. The Terriers will have the same struggles if they fall behind GW early.

For BU, the Terriers will once again be without senior forward Scott Brittain (’10) and freshmen guard B.J. Bailey (’13), who are both suffering from concussions and don’t have a timetable for their returns. Chambers said that the team will continue to use the same game plan, but look for senior forward Valdas Sirutis ('10) to get his first start of the season against a much bigger George Washington squad. Sirutis played well off the bench for BU, grabbing six offense boards in 24 minutes. Strong, who may start the game on the bench, was by far the best Terrier on the court accumulating his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Look for the Terriers to get sophomore forward Jake O’Brien (’12) more involved in the offense after O’Brien struggled with foul trouble against Iona and managed only seven points without attempting a three point shot.