Vestal, N.Y. ? Carlos Strong had 17 points off the bench and John Holland added 16 in leading Boston University to a 68-64 victory over UAlbany in the quarterfinal round of the America East Conference on Saturday, March 8 at Binghamton University's Events Center. The Terriers, who have won nine of their last 11 contests, will meet No. 2 seed Hartford in the semifinals.
Boston U. (14-16) led 52-47 with 3:10 left in the regulation when Strong beat the shot clock with a three-point field goal from right of the key. UAlbany (15-15) sliced the deficit to 54-53 on two free throws by Brian Lillis, a 6-foot-5 senior who led all scorers with 24 points. After BU's Corey Lowe split a pair of foul shots, the Great Danes' Jon Iati tied the contest at 56 apiece on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 9.9 seconds to play. The Terriers failed to get off a shot in the closing seconds.
In the extra period, Boston U. took a quick 60-56 advantage when Lowe tipped in his own miss and converted a driving bank shot. The Great Danes, who won both regular-season meetings between the teams, later got within 66-64 on Lillis' two foul shots. But Tyler Morris and Holland each made one of two from the line in the final 13 seconds to preserve the lead.
“I'm extremely proud of the toughness that our kids showed in this game,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff, whose squad was eliminated by UAlbany in last year's semifinal round. “That team has been extremely tough, and we have not been able to match that in the recent games with them.”
UAlbany used a 10-3 run to take a 19-10 lead midway through the first half. Iati, who 16 points, canned a three-point field goal from the left corner off an in-bounds pass to complete that stretch. The Great Danes moved out to a 29-19 margin when Lillis converted a baseline drive and made a pair of free throws. However, the Terriers, the tournament's sixth seed, turned up their defensive effort holding the third seed without a field goal over the final seven-plus minutes of the period. Meanwhile, Strong, who had 12 first half points, drilled two three-pointers during that span. His long-range shot from the left corner beat the buzzer to end the half and close the gap to 30-29.
“I really thought the winner of this game could win this whole thing,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team went without a field goal for an 11-minute stretch in the second half. “When I first got the job at Albany, Boston University was the program and that's what we tried to copy, so if we have to lose I guess BU's the program to lose to. They were physical and took us out of our sets. They crawled into us and we missed some free throws at critical times.”
The Terriers, who held their opponent to 31.9-percent shooting, ran off 10 unanswered to erase UAlbany's 34-29 lead early in the final period. Holland, the league's top rookie who grabbed eight rebounds, made a three-pointer to put his team ahead. Lowe, who totaled 11 points and seven rebounds, hit a layup off an in-bounds play to finish off the run. The Great Danes rallied to tie the contest at 42 apiece when Iati nailed one of his four 3-pointers with 11:10 remaining.
UAlbany's Brian Connelly had nine points and four rebounds, but missed two free throws after making a steal in the backcourt that would have tied the game at 64-all with 40 seconds left in overtime. Brent Wilson, one of three seniors playing in his final game, added eight points and fouled out with 2:16 left in regulation.
“We gave everything we had,” said Iati, who has seen the UAlbany program rise to win conference titles after from a five-win campaign during his freshman year. “You want to end your career in the NCAAs, but there was no storybook ending. I am proud of all the things we have done here and the two championships.”
Boston U. 68, UAlbany 64 (OT) (03/08/08 at Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.)
Box Score
Play-by-Play
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score
Boston University vs Albany
03/08/08 at Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.
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VISITORS: Boston University 14-16
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 Holland, John....... f 5-12 2-7 4-6 0 8 8 4 16 0 0 0 0 34
31 Brittain, Scott..... f 1-3 0-0 5-11 1 8 9 5 7 2 2 2 1 37
02 Wolff, Matt......... g 3-7 1-3 1-1 0 4 4 5 8 3 1 0 0 30
13 Lowe, Corey......... g 4-15 0-5 3-5 3 4 7 5 11 3 7 0 1 37
24 Morris, Tyler....... g 1-1 1-1 3-4 0 1 1 3 6 5 4 0 2 37
22 Strong, Carlos...... 6-8 4-5 1-3 0 3 3 4 17 0 1 2 1 29
32 Johnson, Marques.... 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 3 3 1 0 0 0 13
41 Gotzler, Max........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 8
Team................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 21-47 9-22 17-30 6 31 37 31 68 14 15 4 5 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-22 40.9% 2nd Half: 9-18 50.0% OT: 3-7 42.9% Game: 44.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-12 41.7% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% OT: 0-1 0.0% Game: 40.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-12 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% OT: 6-10 60.0% Game: 56.7% 10
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HOME TEAM: Albany 15-15
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 Connelly, Brian..... f 3-3 0-0 3-6 2 2 4 2 9 0 1 0 1 29
34 Wilson, Brent....... f 2-6 2-5 2-2 0 2 2 5 8 1 2 0 1 40
55 Turley, Al.......... c 1-2 0-0 3-4 2 3 5 3 5 0 0 0 0 16
14 Iati, Jon........... g 5-8 4-6 2-4 0 3 3 1 16 1 3 0 0 32
21 Lillis, Brian....... g 4-17 0-2 16-18 1 3 4 2 24 5 1 2 0 45
03 Martin, Josh........ 0-8 0-4 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 28
05 Hastings, Jerel..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 12
23 Ambrose, Tim........ 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 9
42 Covington, Jimmie... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
54 Gifford, Brett...... 0-0 0-0 1-3 0 4 4 5 1 1 1 0 3 12
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 15-47 6-17 28-39 8 23 31 23 64 8 10 2 5 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-22 40.9% 2nd Half: 5-18 27.8% OT: 1-7 14.3% Game: 31.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% OT: 0-5 0.0% Game: 35.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-12 66.7% 2nd Half: 14-19 73.7% OT: 6-8 75.0% Game: 71.8% 4
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Officials: Robert Patey, Tom Fahey, Gary Agger
Technical fouls: Boston University-None. Albany-None.
Attendance: 2831
Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total
Boston University............. 29 27 12 - 68
Albany........................ 30 26 8 - 64
America East Championship quarterfinals.
#6 Boston advances to Sunday's 2:30 semifinal vs. #2 Hartford.
