Terriers topple Bears BU run erases UMaine rally

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BOSTON – Rashad Bell scored 15 points as Boston University beat Maine 65-54 Wednesday night at Case Gym.

The win puts BU within one game of clinching its fourth America East regular season title since 1997.

Maine (12-14, 7-7) rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 37-37 on a Thomas Hill 3-pointer with 12:57 left. But BU (16-8, 11-2) went on a 14-2 run to put the game out of reach.

BU coach Dennis Wolff employed a full-court press to try to infuse some life into his team and it worked.

“I thought we were sluggish up to that point,” Wolff said. “I wanted to get the energy level and the tempo going.”

Maine had four of its 18 turnovers during the BU run.

Billy Collins sparked the Terrier scoring surge by trying to dunk over 7-foot Maine center Justin Rowe, who blocked Collins but was called for a foul.

Matt Turner followed Collins’ successful free throws with a steal and an over-the-shoulder pass to Rashad Bell, who converted an open layup for a 41-37 lead. Turner then hit two 3-pointers as the Terriers pushed their lead to 53-39 with 8:40 left.

BU won the conference title outright in 1997, and shared the honor with Delaware in 1998 and with Vermont last season.

Kevin Reed scored 12 points and Rickey White added 10 points for Maine. Rowe blocked only one shot and had seven rebounds.

Clayton Brown chipped in with nine points for the Black Bears and grabbed 10 rebounds to help them gain a 36-28 team edge. Brown and Eric Dobson each notched five assists.

Ryan Butt scored 10 points for BU. Collins, Turner and Chaz Carr each added nine.

The BU defense held 7-foot center Rowe to just nine points as Maine shot just 37.5 percent (18-for-48) for the game.

The Black Bears shot only 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from 3-point range. But finished shooting 41.2 percent (21-for-64) from the game and made a pivotal 12-of-14 shots from the line in the second half.

TERRIERS 65, BLACK BEARS 54

Maine (12-14) Boston University (16-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Reed 5 9 0 0 12 Fitzgerald 2 4 5

Hill 1 5 0 0 3 Seymour 0 4 0 0

Jackson 1 4 1 2 3 Bell 4 8 15

White 4 7 2 3 10 Collins 2 5 9

Rowe 2 4 5 5 9 Butt 3 8 4 10

Dobson 0 2 4 4 4 Carr 3 5 9

Hadjisotirov 1 5 0 0 2 Grochow’ski 4 8

Petkus 0 1 0 0 0 Gardner 0 0 0

Dubois 0 0 2 2 2 Turner 3 8 9

Campbell 0 0 0 0 0 Czaplinski 0 0

Brown 4 11 1 3 9

Totals 18 48 15 19 54 Totals 21 51 16 20 65

Maine 26 54

Boston University 32 65

3-pt. goals: Maine (3-16): Reed 2-4, Hill 1-5, Jackson 0-1, Hadjisotirov 0-3, Petkus 0-1, Brown 0-2; BU (7-24): Fitzgerald 1-2, Seymour 0-1, Bell 1-2, Collins 2-5, Butt 0-2, Carr 0-2, Grochowalksi 0-3, Turner 3-7

Attendance: 844