Boston University had three chances to take the lead with less than four minutes to play, but came up just short. D.J. Irving and Darryl Partin both missed 3-pointers and Irving was called for an offensive foul on consecutive possessions as the Terriers fell to 0-3 on the season.
After trailing by as many as 13, Boston University couldn’t come all the way back despite playing some of their best basketball of the season during a nine-minute stretch in the second half.
Partin had a huge game for the second season in a row against Cornell with 29 points, including 17 in the second half. The senior guard hit all 10 of his free throws and hit 8-17 of his attempts from the field, including three of the Terriers’ season-high seven 3-pointers. Partin’s 29 points were three points shy of his career-high which he set last season against Cornell.
Irving and Patrick Hazel joined Partin in double figures with 10 points apiece and Dom Morris added nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds. After looking to score early and often this season, Irving finished with a season-high eight assists and just two turnovers.
The Big Red were led by Drew Ferry who finished with 14 points including nine points in the middle of a 20-0 Cornell run. Shonn Miller added 10 points and Chris Wroblewski reached double-figures by hitting six straight free throws to ice the game for Cornell.
Despite being outrebounded and being unable to slow down the Terriers’ parade to the free throw line, the Big Red came away with the victory by forcing 16 Terrier turnovers. Cornell used a slew of Terriers turnovers over the first ten minutes of the game to go on a 20-0 run and take the lead for good.
Boston University scored seven points in the opening 86 seconds of the game to grab a 7-0 lead but failed to score another point for the next seven minutes. The Terriers turned the ball over seven times and missed four shots, as the Big Red went on their first of two runs of 10 points or more.
Partin and the Terriers cut the lead to five, but found themselves down 35-24 at the break after an 8-2 Big Red run to end the half. Things would only get worse for the Terriers in the second half, as they cut the deficit to two with 15:31 remaining, only to have Cornell answer with a 10-0 run and take a commanding 13-point lead with 10:35 to go.
That’s when Partin and Boston University started heating up. Partin scored seven points on back-to-back possessions with two 3-pointers and a free throw to finish a four-point play in cutting the deficit to four. Three minutes later the Terriers would cut the deficit to one for the first time but failed to complete the comeback because of Cornell’s strong defense and clutch shooting.
After Morris hit a layup with 3:43 to bring Boston University within one, the Terriers failed to score for the next 3:19 in helping Cornell move to 2-2. During the final stretch, Partin and Irving both missed two 3-pointers and Irving was called for a charge, as the Terriers still look for a go-to scorer in crunch time.
Boston University hit 17 of 18 free throws (94 percent) and hit 30 percent of their 3-point attempts which were both season highs.
Cornell and Boston University's hockey teams will try to earn bragging rights Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in the third edition of Red Hot Hockey. The Terriers basketball team will be back in action Friday when they take on Cleveland State at 2:30 p.m. as part of the TicketCity Legends Classic.