Courtesy of NavySports.com
BOSTON, Mass. – Junior guard Bryce Dulin scored 19 points and the Navy men’s basketball team (13-10, 8-3 PL) won at Boston University (12-11, 7-4 PL), 70-61, Thursday in Case Gym for its eighth straight win. With the win, Navy moves into sole possession of second place in the Patriot League behind first-place Bucknell (10-1).
“We played with great determination and a great level of toughness tonight,” said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. “I thought it was a great win for us on the road tonight. The keys to the game were playing great defense and rebounding the ball. I’m really proud of our guys.”
Dulin shot 5-of-7 from the floor, 3-of-3 on 3-pointers and was 6-of-8 at the free throw line in a very efficient performance on the offensive end. Dulin also had five rebounds and two steals. In Navy’s past six games, Dulin is shooting 72 percent from the floor (30-of-42) and 78 percent on 3-pointers (14-of-18).
“We just wanted to focus on being the tougher team, making the hustle plays and outrebounding them tonight,” said Dulin. “We’ve been playing well lately and guys have been stepping up.”
Dulin led four Navy players in double figures on Thursday. Junior guard Shawn Anderson scored 13 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while sophomore forward George Kiernan came off the bench to score 13 points on three 3-pointers with six rebounds.
Junior forward Tom Lacey scored 12 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Tim Abruzzo scored seven points on two 3-pointers and matched his career-high of seven rebounds.
Navy outrebounded Boston, 40-31, and saw 16 offensive rebounds lead to 14 second-chance points. Navy also scored 21 points off of Boston’s 14 turnovers.
Navy forced Boston to commit turnovers on five straight possessions early in the game and used a 7-0 run during the stretch to stake a 9-3 lead. A steal by Dulin led to a fastbreak layup by Anderson and then Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession. A steal by senior Edward Alade led to a layup by sophomore Hasan Abdullah and forced Boston to call its first timeout.
The Terriers responded with a 10-2 run over five minutes, which included two 3-pointers by Cedric Hankerson, and took a 13-11 lead. Anderson snapped the run with a bucket before Boston’s Eric Fanning and Abruzzo traded 3-pointers. Abruzzo would later sink another 3-pointer and he also had a steal that led to two free throws by Dulin on the next possession. Kiernan then scored five straight points on a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper in the paint as Navy went ahead 29-20 with six minutes left in the first half.
Boston then stormed back with a 14-3 run over the next four minutes that saw Fanning and Will Goff connect on 3-pointers as the Terriers went ahead by two points in the closing minutes of the first half.
With under 10 seconds to play in the opening half and Boston trying to extend its lead, Tyler Scanlon missed a 3-pointer and Abdullah grabbed the long rebound and passed ahead to Lacey who had leaked out for a fastbreak opportunity. Hankerson chased down Lacey and was called for a flagrant foul with two seconds left. Lacey made both free throws to tie the game and the Mids were then awarded possession due to the flagrant foul. Off of the inbounds play Lacey passed to Kiernan who swished a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer for a 37-34 lead.
Alade scored Navy’s first four points of the second half as the two teams traded buckets before Navy went on a 9-0 run on three 3-pointers to take a 50-39 lead. Dulin made the first 3-pointer in the run, followed by a trey from Kiernan. Dulin then made his third 3-pointer of the game to prompt a Boston timeout.
Navy continued to hold a comfortable lead until Boston made free throw after free throw to chip away at Navy’s lead. With the Mids ahead just six points at 59-53 with four minutes remaining, Lacey scored inside off a dish from Abdullah and then a Lacey steal led to a fastbreak layup by Anderson and a 10-point lead for Navy.
Anderson made two clutch free throws, but the Mids kept sending Boston to the line and the Terriers were able to cut the margin down to six points again at 65-59 with 1:18 remaining. Lacey then scored on a putback off of his own miss for two critical points. Navy then got a stop on the other end and Dulin made two free throws after pulling down a rebound to seal the game.
Fanning was the lone Terrier in double figures with his 21 points. Fanning was 9-of-11 at the free throw line. Scanlon scored nine points, while Justin Alston tallied seven points and six rebounds.
Abdullah finished the night with six rebounds, a game-high five assists, two points and two steals.
Navy’s eight-game winning streak is its largest overall winning streak since winning 13 straight in 2000 and the eight straight conference wins are the most since winning 12 in a row spanning the 2000 and 2001 Patriot League seasons. Navy has also won five straight road games after opening the season 0-7 away from home.
Navy’s win on Thursday avenged a 71-53 loss to Boston U. earlier this season. Navy has gone 8-0 since the home loss to the Terriers on Jan. 5.
Navy will now remain on the road to play at Colgate (7-16, 5-5 PL) on Saturday at 2:00 PM. Saturday’s game will come just 41 hours after the conclusion of Thursday night’s game.
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