SB Nation Boston - Boston University 77, Maine 68: D.J. Irving Leads Terriers Past Black Bearshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48863/boston-fave.png2012-01-11T23:23:57-05:00http://boston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/24642232012-01-11T23:23:57-05:002012-01-11T23:23:57-05:00Boston University 77, Maine 68 Final: Terriers Top Black Bears Behind Big Day From D.J. Irving
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<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123246/d-j-irving" class="sbn-auto-link">D.J. Irving</a> managed to keep the Terriers close in the first half while his teammates struggled, the second half proved to be a whole another story. Boston University (6-11, 2-1) came out firing in the second half, with everyone contributing, to hand Maine (8-6, 2-1) their first America East loss of the season and give the Terriers just their second true road win of the season in a 77-68 victory.</p>
<p>Irving led the way in the win, recording his first career double-double (23 points, 11 assists) and proving nearly unstoppable. He hit 8-of-14 of his shots from the field, went to the line 10 times and only turned the ball over two times, for a Terriers team that had lost their past two games in Orono, while struggling mightily. Irving's eleven assists were tied for his career-high and came after he recorded eight dishes and no turnovers in Sunday's win over Binghamton.</p>
<p>Backcourt mate Darryl Partin survived a rough first half, to finish with a game-high 27 points. After a first half in which he hit just 1-of-10 shots and scored just three points, Partin hit 9-of-12 of his attempts in the second half. In the process, Partin reached the 1,000 point mark for his career behind a perfect 6-of-6 from behind the arc in the second half, as he scored 24 points in the first 10:30 of the second stanza to give the Terriers a 65-48 lead.</p>
<p>Matt Griffin added 10 points and three assists off the bench for Boston University. Malik Thomas was a big bench contributor as well, as he pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the Terriers, who out-rebounded Maine 36-30.</p>
<p>The Black Bears were led by <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52195/gerald-mclemore" class="sbn-auto-link">Gerald McLemore</a> who finished with 17 points, three below his season average. Sophomore forward <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123839/alasdair-fraser" class="sbn-auto-link">Alasdair Fraser</a> added 14 points and eight rebounds and freshmen forward <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145634/justin-edwards" class="sbn-auto-link">Justin Edwards</a> had a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Despite shooting 51.9 percent (28-54) for the game, Maine failed to overcome the Terriers knocking down 12 3-pointers, on just 16 attempts (75 percent). After holding Boston University to 27 points in the first stanza, the Terriers scored 50 in the second half, behind 57 percent shooting, including 9-of-11 (81 percent) on 3-pointers.</p>
<p>The first half looked familiar between the two teams, as the Terriers struggled to shoot the ball (32 percent) and turned the ball over eight times. Maine slowly built a nine-point lead behind their scoring inside and the Terriers struggles to slow down McLemore, who had a game-high 14 points at halftime.</p>
<p>It took an Irving three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 33-27 at the break and it looked like the Terriers were in for another rough night at the Alfond Arena. In their past two games at Maine, Boston University had averaged 53 points per game, all that would change with a huge second half.</p>
<p>After a Fraser basket gave Maine an eight-point lead to begin the half, Boston University went on an 18-6 run to grab their first lead since the score was 3-2. The Terriers hit 7-of-8 shots over the four minute span, including a perfect 4-of-4 on 3-point attempts, to grab a 45-41 lead.</p>
<p>After a minute and a half of back-and-forth play, the Terriers went on another big run. Starting at the 13:44 mark of the second half, Boston University went on a 15-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 65-48. All the baskets were made by Partin or Irving, as <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123248/dom-morris" class="sbn-auto-link">Dom Morris</a> hit two free throws to start the spurt. Over the next four minutes, Partin connected on three more 3-pointers and Irving and Partin connected on 2-point shots.</p>
<p>The Black Bears slowly cut into the deficit over the final 9:25, but were only able to get as close as six with 1:12 to go. Three Terrier free throws were enough to ice the game and seal the final score, as Boston University earned a huge road win against one of the elite teams in the America East Conference.</p>
<p>Boston University will be back in action Saturday at Noon when they take on Stony Brook University, in a rematch of last season's America East Championship Game.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2012/1/11/2701346/boston-university-77-maine-68-final-terriers-top-black-bears-behindorenskys2012-01-11T20:02:48-05:002012-01-11T20:02:48-05:00Maine 33, Boston University 27 Halftime: D.J. Irving Keeps Terriers Within Striking Distance
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<p>If <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123246/d-j-irving">D.J. Irving</a> keeps improving game-by-game as quickly as he has in the past three, it won’t matter how the rest of his teammates are faring. Irving scored a game-high 14 points in the first half, to keep the Terriers close heading into halftime.</p>
<p>Maine holds a 33-27 lead at the break, behind 12 points from senior guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52195/gerald-mclemore">Gerald McLemore</a>. Sophomore forward <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123839/alasdair-fraser">Alasdair Fraser</a> added eight points and four rebounds for the Black Bears.</p>
<p>Outside of Irving’s strong performance, backup point guard Matt Griffin is the only player to connect on more than one field goal. Griffin added five points, while leading scorer Darryl Partin has just three, on 1-of-10 shooting.</p>
<p>The Terriers hit just 32 percent of their shots (11-of-34) for the half, but did manage to connect on 3-of-5 three-point attempts. On the other side, Maine was on fire, hitting 56 percent of their attempts (12-23). Boston University kept themselves in the game because of their rebounding; they pulled down 10 offensive rebounds in the half and have a four rebound lead (20-16).</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2012/1/11/2700945/maine-33-boston-university-27-halftime-d-j-irving-keeps-terriersorenskys2012-01-11T15:04:15-05:002012-01-11T15:04:15-05:00Boston University Vs Maine: Terriers Look To Keep Momentum Going In Orono
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<p>Boston University will look to win in Maine for the first time in three seasons and come away with their first winning streak since early December. </p> <p>Darryl Partin, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123246/d-j-irving">D.J. Irving</a> and Boston University (5-11, 1-1) will look to hand Maine (8-5, 2-0) their first America East Conference loss of the season Thursday night at 7 p.m. EDT in Orono, Maine. 1510 AM The Zone will have a radio broadcast of the game, with Doug Brown providing play-by-play and Brian Maurer serving as his analyst.
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<p>Boston University leads the all-time series 56-40, in a rivalry that dates back more than a century (1902-03). The Black Bears have won the past two contests at home, holding the Terriers to just 53 points per game. Back in Boston, the Terriers returned the favor, with two wins of their own. Last season's 88-78 Terriers win, started a Maine tailspin that would last the rest of the season and ruin an 8-2 start in the conference. The game was highlighted by Boston University star <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25353/john-holland">John Holland</a> scoring his 2,000 career point.
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<p>In the Battle of B.U.'s Sunday, the Terriers ended their seven-game losing streak, with a 68-49 victory. Partin led the way with 17 points and redshirt freshmen Malik Thomas scored 14 of the Terriers 26 bench points in the win. Irving, who was only playing his second game back after an injury, finished with six points, eight assists and no turnovers.
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<p>Maine earned their second win in a row and fifth in six games Saturday, when they defeated UMBC 89-70. Senior guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52195/gerald-mclemore">Gerald McLemore</a> led the way with 29 points and sophomore <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123839/alasdair-fraser">Alasdair Fraser</a> added a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds). The game was relatively close until midway through the second half, when the Black Bears used a 10-1 run to put the game away.
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<p>The Terriers are led by Partin's 19.8 points per game, which is good for third best in the conference in scoring. The Lasalle transfer finds himself just seven points shy of 1,000 for his career, after scoring 819 points in Scarlet and White in his first season and a half. His backcourt mate, and the team's second leading scorer, Irving (11.4 ppg), also leads the team in assists, at five per game. Senior captain <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/26068/patrick-hazel">Patrick Hazel</a> leads the team with 6.2 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game.
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<p>The Black Bears are led by a formidable three-headed trio of McLemore, Fraser and freshmen standout <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145634/justin-edwards">Justin Edwards</a>. McLemore is second in the conference in scoring at 20.5 points per game and stands just ahead of Edwards (15.6ppg) and Fraser (14.2ppg). Fraser, a Scotland product, leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 rebounds per game, just ahead of Edwards 6.2rbg. Edwards leads the team in steals (25) and free throw attempts (48). Senior point guard Andrew Rodgers is in charge of feeding the trio the ball and has done a great job of it, he leads all Division 1 players in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.36.
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<p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Alfond Arena has been nightmarish to the Terriers the past two season and it won't get any easier this time around, against one of the deepest and most talented teams in America East. Even with Irving back, I don't think the Terriers are quite ready to win on the road against a team of Maine's caliber. Strong showings from some of the younger Terriers and a tight game, might be as much as Boston University fans can hope for.
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<p><strong>Maine 70, Boston University 64</strong></p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2012/1/11/2700094/boston-university-vs-maine-terriers-look-to-keep-momentum-going-inorenskys