OPENING TIP: The Boston University men's basketball team plays its final regular-season home game Sunday afternoon when the Terriers (9-15 overall, 6-7 America East) host the Stony Brook Seawolves (4-20, 2-11).  Game time is 1 p.m., at Case Gymnasium.  The Terriers will be looking to sweep SBU, after capturing a 73-65 victory at Stony Brook on Jan. 19.  BU concludes the 2005-06 season with a pair of road games next week (at Vermont 2/23, at Hartford 2/26) before the America East Tournament in Binghamton (Mar. 3-5).  The good news: BU has already beaten each of the three remaining teams on its schedule.  The Terriers could play one more home game in the tournament (Mar. 11), if they advance to the title game and are the highest remaining seed.  BU is coming off a 74-51 loss at Binghamton last Tuesday, and has now lost four of its last five games.  Stony Brook is coming off a 59-51 loss at New Hampshire Wednesday.  The Seawolves have lost five straight and 10 of their last 11.

 

RADIO-TV COVERAGE: The BU-Stony Brook game will be broadcast on radio in the Boston area on WTTT-1150-AM. Doug Brown and former BU captain Billy Collins will provide the call.  The WTTT broadcast can be accessed on the internet at http://www.bu.edu/athletics/fans/tv-radio-schedule.html.  The game can also be heard on the BU student station WTBU with Brian Maurer (play-by-play) and Seth Needle (color) providing the call.  The WTBU broadcast can be heard online at www.wtburadio.org.

ABOUT STONY BROOK: The Seawolves have lost five straight and 10 of their last 11.  SBU played a difficult nonconference schedule, facing four ranked teams: George Washington, Boston College, Villanova and Connecticut, as well as St. John's.  Stony Brook is led by guard Mitchell Beauford, who is averaging a team-high 14.3 ppg and 3.4 rpg.  Forward Mike Popoko is scoring at a 10.0 ppg clip, while guard Bobby Santiago is averaging 9.7 ppg and handing out a team-best 2.7 apg.  As a team, Stony Brook is averaging 56.3 ppg and shooting 37.3% from the field, 32.5% from 3-point range.  Opponents are averaging 66.8 ppg and shooting 44.5% from the field, 35.3% from three-point range.

SENIOR DAY: Sunday's contest will mark the final home game for the Terriers' two seniors, Kevin Gardner and Shaun Wynn.  The duo have been a part of the most successful period in Boston University men's basketball history.  BU has gone 72-41 with Wynn and Gardner on the team, and the Terriers' 63 wins from 2002-2005 were the second-best three-year total in school annals.  Wynn currently ranks sixth all-time at BU with 150 steals and he is fourth with a 1.94 assist-to-turnover ratio,  Gardner ranks 10th in school history with a .517 career field goal percentage and is third all-time in blocked shots, with 94.  He is having his finest season in 2005-06, leading the team in both scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg).  A look at the two players' career stats at BU:

Kevin Gardner
 G-GS FG% 3FG% Reb. Avg. B Stl Pts Avg.
02-03 27-0 .485 .000 46 1.7 8 7 43 1.6
03-04 29-4 .525 .000 140 4.8 34 11 119 4.1
04-05 29-29 .521 .000 165 5.7 24 27 211 7.3
05-06 23-23 .516 .000 176 7.7 28 22 295 12.8
Career 108-56 .517 .000 527 4.9 94 67 668 6.2

Shaun Wynn
 G-GS FG% 3FG% Reb. Avg. A Stl Pts Avg.
02-03 24-0 .357 .000 23 1.0 29 11 34 1.4
03-04 29-27 .478 .375 129 4.4 83 60 237 8.2
04-05 29-29 .339 .194 119 4.1 100 53 181 6.2
05-06 24-23 .359 .382 111 4.6 83 26 186 7.8
Career 106-79 .390 .314 382 3.6 295 150 638 6.0

BU NINTH NATIONALLY IN SCORING DEFENSE:  In the NCAA statistics as of Feb. 14, BU ranks ninth in the nation in terms of points allowed per game.  At the date of release, the Terriers were giving up just 57.7 ppg.  Air Force was tops in the nation, allowing just 54.3 ppg.  BU ranks just behind Delaware State (57.2 ppg), and just ahead of George Mason (58.0 ppg).
 
THE COACHES: The Terriers are led by 12th year head coach Dennis Wolff (Connecticut `78). Wolff is 201-148 (.576) in his career at BU, 231-166 (.582) in 14 years overall, including a 30-18 record in two seasons at Connecticut College. Wolff is the all-time leader in victories at BU, having surpassed Mike Jarvis (101) on Jan. 22, 2001. Wolff is a three-time America East Coach of the Year (1997, 2003, 2004) and has twice been named  NABC District I and New England Coach of the Year (1997, 2004).
     Under Wolff, BU has dominated in America East play, sporting a 130-74 (.637) mark, including 75-28 (.728) in home league contests. Wolff has led the Terriers to at least a share of four America East regular-season titles (1997, 2002, 2003, and 2004) and two America East Tournament championships (1997, 2002). BU has advanced to a pair of NCAA Tournaments under Wolff and has won 20 or more games on five occasions during his tenure.
     Wolff's assistants are Orlando Vandross (America International `92), Mike Winiecki (Richmond `89) and Mike Costello (BU `00).
     Stony Brook is coached by Steve Pikiell (Connecticut `90), who is 4-20 in his first season overall as a head coach.  Pikiell played for the UConn Elite Eight team of 1990 and spent four years as an assistant at George Washington prior to getting the Seawolves job.

BU-STONY BROOK HISTORY:  The Terriers lead the all-time series 8-2, with all 10 games having been played since 2001-02, when the Seawolves entered the America East.  BU has won three straight against SBU, including a 73-65 triumph on Jan. 19.  The Terriers' last loss to the Seawolves came in the 2004 America East Tournament, 62-58, spoiling a 17-1 conference season and sending BU to the NIT.  BU is 4-0 at home all-time against Stony Brook, with the average margin of victory being 17.3 ppg.

LEADING THE LEAGUE IN D: Regardless of his team's record, Dennis Wolff-coached BU has always been known for its relentless defense.  This season is no different, as the Terriers lead the America East in scoring defense (58.4 ppg) and are second in field-goal percentage defense (42.1%),  The Terriers led the league in both categories last year (55.7 ppg, 37.1% FG% defense) and they led the nation with their field-goal percentage defense.  BU has led the America East in scoring defense in each of the last four seasons (55.7 in 2004-05; 59.5 in 2003-04; 63.2 in 2002-03; and 64.0 in 2001-02) and the Terriers have led the America East in field-goal percentage defense in three of the last four years (37.1% in 2004-05; 40.4% in 2002-03; and 39.0% in 2001-02).  BU has held 12 opponents below 60 points this year, including Hartford, which scored just 40 points on Jan. 25 - the fewest against BU this season.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:  Sophomore forward Tony Gaffney scored a career-high 20 points and Corey Hassan added 16 as BU won 73-65 at Stony Brook on Jan. 19.  Gaffney was 9-10 from the field and added five rebounds.  BU shot a sizzling 53% from the field, including 44% from three-point range.  Hassan was 4-9 from beyond the arc, as BU was able to find the points to replace leading scorer Kevin Gardner, who sat out with a hamstring injury.  Mitchell Beauford led Stony Brook with 18 points, while Mike Popoko added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
     BU took early control of the game midway through the first half with a 13-3 run.  Trailing 10-9 with 13 minutes to play, Brian Macon canned a three and followed that with a short jumper to give the Terriers a 16-10 advantage.  Following a Beauford hoop, Corey Hassan, Omari Peterkin and Ben Coblyn scored three consecutive hoops to give BU its largest lead of the half, 22-13.  Led by Gaffney's 10 points on 5-5 shooting, the Terriers entered the halftime locker room leading 31-24.
     A Hassan three gave BU a 46-38 edge midway through the second half, but the Seawolves proceeded to rip off a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 47-46 advantage.  The lead would exchange hands seven times over the next four minutes, with neither team taking charge by more than two points.  Gaffney finally broke the stalemate with a pair of free throws, and he had another hoop to lead an 8-2 spurt which propelled the Terriers to a five-point lead, 61-56 with four minutes remaining.  The run became 14-4 and the lead was 67-58 after Hassan hit a killer three with 1:46 remaining.  The Terriers salted the game away from the line, going 6-8 down the stretch.
    
BINGHAMTON RECAP: Binghamton used a 14-0 run in the first half to take control of the game as the Bearcats beat the Terriers 74-51 Tuesday night.  Boston U. was led by Kevin Gardner, who scored 12 points.  Corey Hassan added 11 for the Terriers and was the only other BU player in double figures.  Sebastian Hermenier led four Bearcats in double figures with a game-high 21 points.  Andre Heard had 14, while Mike Gordon and Steve Proctor added 12 apiece. 
     With the game tied 5-5 less than three minutes in, Binghamton scored 14 straight points, as the Terriers went nearly seven and a half minutes without a basket.  Hermenier was the catalyst in the run for Binghamton, scoring seven points.  Hassan ended the drought for the Terriers with a bucket, and Gardner and Bryan Geffen each scored to cut the deficit to eight, 19-11 with 8:28 remaining.  Boston U. was still within eight, 26-18 after Marques Johnson drained a three, but the Bearcats ended the half with an 11-3 run to take a 37-21 advantage into the halftime locker room.
     The Terriers scored the first five points of the second half on a Gardner hoop and a Hassan three to claw within 11, 37-26, but a 13-4 Bearcat spurt over the next six minutes ended any hopes of a Boston comeback.  The Terriers shot 41.2% from the floor for the game, but were plagued by 14 turnovers.  Binghamton shot 48% and went to the free-throw line 25 times compared to the Terriers' 10.  The Bearcats outscored the Terriers 19-5 at the charity stripe.

BINGHAMTON NOTABLE:
- Kevin Gardner returned to double-figures scoring after notching just six points last time out against UMBC.  Gardner had a team-high 12 points, as he led the Terriers in scoring for the 12th time this season.  Gardner has clicked for double figures in 10 of his last 12 games.  He is averaging 14.9 ppg in that span, compared to 10.5 ppg in his first 11 contests.
- Corey Hassan also returned to double-figure scoring, with 11 points.  He had just three in the win over UMBC on Feb. 8.  Hassan, who has scored 10 or more points 15 times in 24 games this season, had done so just twice in his previous five outings prior to the performance against Binghamton.
- Hassan hit 2-9 from 3-point range and now has 13 games this season where he has made multi 3-pointers.
- True freshman Marques Johnson turned in his most productive performance of his career.  Johnson established career-highs in points (9), rebounds (5), assists (3), steals (2) and minutes (33).  Johnson had a grand total of five points and five rebounds all season in 16 previous games this season.
- Junior forward Omari Peterkin grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, matching his second-highest performance of the season.  Peterkin hauled in a career-high nine boards against Vermont on Jan. 22, and also had eight against UNH (12/8) and Canisius (12/22).  He is averaging 7.3 rpg in his last three contests and his 22 boards in that span is his best three-game total this year.
- Peterkin added a game-high three blocks, one shy of his career-best four, set at Albany on Feb. 4.  Peterkin is second on the team with 15 rejections this season, trailing only Gardner (28).
- True freshman Brendan Sullivan scored his first points in 21 games, with a second-half bucket.  Sullivan hadn't scored since he exploded for a career-high 15 points against Rider on Nov. 26, and had been 0-6 from the field in 12 games since.
- The 23-point loss was BU's largest of the season.  It was the biggest margin in a conference setback since a 90-62 loss to Vermont on Feb. 17, 2000.  It was the largest loss since a 64-34 defeat at Georgetown in the first round of the NIT last season.
- Binghamton's 19-5 edge at the free throw line was the largest discrepancy against the Terriers since Duke had a 17-2 advantage in the season-opener.
- The Terriers suffered their third straight loss to Binghamton, but still lead the all-time series 7-3.  Boston U. is now 3-2 against the Bearcats on their home floor.
- The Terriers were swept by the Bearcats for the first time ever.  It's also just the fourth time in five years BU has been swept in the regular season by an America East foe.  Northeastern did so last season, Vermont turned the trick in 2001-02, and Albany and Binghamton have done so in 2005-06.
- BU's 41.2% shooting was its highest shooting percentage in a loss since the team hit 43.6% in a setback at UMBC (1/5).
- The 74 points allowed were the second-most by the Terrier defense this season.  Only George Washington scored more in a 75-62 win over BU on Dec. 2.

REJECTION LETTER:  Gardner will likely end his career at BU third all-time in blocked shots.  With 28 so far this season, the 6-8 Gardner has 94 for his career.  Only Tunji Awojobi (302) and Rashad Bell (114) have had more swats in their Terrier careers.  A look at the top-10, a list which has seen Gardner rise from eighth to third this season:
1. Tunji Awojobi 302 1993-97
2. Rashad Bell 114 2001-05
3. Kevin Gardner 94 2002-06
4. Jason Scott 93 1989-92
5. Larry Jones 78 1985-88
6. David Stiff  75 1991-95
7. Gary Plummer 70 1980-84
8. Rick Rosu-Myles 69 1990-94
9. Tom Ivey  65 1982-86
10. Joey Beard  64 1995-98

500 CLUB FOR GARDNER: Senior forward Kevin Gardner recorded his 500th career rebound on Feb. 1 at New Hampshire.  He is the 75th player in America East history to reach the plateau and the 10th Terrier to do so while BU has been affiliated with the league (Gardner does not rank 10th all-time at BU in career rebounds, as others had more before the Terriers joined the conference).  Gardner now has 527 boards in his career, and passed former Terrier Billy Collins `03 on the America East list (Collins had 521 boards) against Binghamton last Tuesday.  Gardner is averaging a career-high 7.7 rpg, good for second in the America East.  He entered his senior season averaging 4.1 rpg for his career.
     Gardner has reached double figures in rebounding eight times this season: (12 vs. URI 11/29 and UNH 2/1; 11 vs. Michigan 11/22, Canisius 12/22, UMBC 1/5, Hartford 1/25; and 10 vs. Maine 1/29 and UMBC 2/8).  In 85 previous games, Gardner had just three performances of 10 or more rebounds.

DOUBLE VISION FOR GARDNER:  Gardner recorded three consecutive point-rebound double-doubles from Jan. 22 - Feb. 1.  He had a career-high 26 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds against UNH on Feb. 1.  He also had 16 points and 10 boards against Maine (1/29) and 10 points and 11 rebounds against Hartford (1/25).  He is the first Terrier with three straight point-rebound double-doubles since Walter Brown did so Feb. 3-8, 1998 (14-10 vs. Northeastern; 26-13 vs. Hartford; 16-11 vs. Vermont).  Also in the 1998 season, forward Joey Beard had four straight double-doubles from 12/10-27, 1997 (21-11 vs. Harvard; 26-13 vs. NC Charlotte; 13-13 vs. Manhattan; 20-14 vs. Eastern Michigan).
     Gardner now has seven double-doubles in his career:
Date Opponent Pts Reb.
Feb. 1, 2006 at New Hampshire 26 12
Jan. 29, 2006 vs. Maine 16 10
Jan. 25, 2006 vs. Hartford 10 11
Jan. 5, 2006 at UMBC 24 11
Dec. 22, 2005 at Canisius 20 11
Nov, 22, 2005 Michigan 12  11
Jan. 9, 2005 Binghamton 12 11

BU vs. AMERICA EAST:  BU is in its 27th season of competition in the America East Conference.  The Terriers were a charter member of the league formed in 1979-80 and known formerly as the ECAC North, the North Atlantic Conference and the America East, which has been the league's surname since the 1996-97 season.  Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire are the only other schools to have remained in the league since its birth.  BU has won or shared the league title on eight occasions: 1980, 1983, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.  The Terriers have represented the America East in the NCAA Tournament five times: 1983, 1988, 1990, 1997 and 2002.
     BU is 246-129 (.656) all-time against current league members.  Coming into 2005-06, the Terriers had a 238-140 (.630) record in their 27 years of membership in the league, easily the best among the current teams.  Vermont is second at 185-192 (.490).
     Dennis Wolff is 101-40 (.716) all-time against current America East foes.  A look at BU's all-time record against current members of the America East.  Wolff's record followed in parentheses.
Albany 8-2 (8-2)
Binghamton 7-3 (7-3)
Hartford 33-15 (19-6)
Maine 48-38 (20-9)
UMBC 8-2 (6-2)
New Hampshire 84-35 (22-3)
Stony Brook 8-2 (8-2)
Vermont  49-33 (11-13)

SPREADING IT AROUND:  BU has had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season - the Terriers have just 10 active players on their roster.  Bryan Geffen joined the club on Jan. 25 with his game-high 15 points in the win over Hartford.  The breakdown is as follows:  Omari Peterkin (Holy Cross), Tony Gaffney (Stony Brook 1/19), Ben Coblyn (Duke), Kevin Gardner (Michigan, URI, Maine 12/10, Canisius, UCR, UMBC 1/5, Albany 1/12, Vermont 1/22, Maine 1/29, UNH 2/1, Albany 2/4, Binghamton 2/14), Brendan Sullivan (Rider), Shaun Wynn (George Washington, Binghamton 1/15, UMBC 2/8) and Corey Hassan (Harvard, UNH 12/8, Maine 12/10, UMass, Bucknell, Vermont 1/22) and Geffen (Hartford 1/25).
 
TOUGH SKED FOR TERRIERS:  BU played one of the most difficult schedules in the nation in the first part of the year, and as of Dec. 9, USA Today's Sagarin rating had the Terriers' docket as the sixth-toughest in the country. Four of BU's first five opponents (Duke, Michigan, Rhode Island and George Washington) had combined for a 74-18 record as of Feb. 16.  Additionally, the Terriers faced Bucknell in the Cable Car Classic, and the Bison are 21-3.

SIZZLIN' MACON:  BU point guard Brian Macon had an auspicious beginning to his Terrier career.  He committed 24 turnovers and had just 17 assists in his first five games - including seven turnovers in the season-opener at Duke.  However, as he has adjusted to the BU offense, Macon has become a very steady hand at the point and has 79 assists and just 39 turnovers in his last 19 games.  He leads the team with 96 dishes and he is third in the America East with 4.0 apg.

HASSAN THE ASSASSIN: Hassan is one of the top three-point shooters in the America East. The Merrimack, N.H., product leads the team with 51 three-pointers and is third in the America East with 2.2 treys per game.  He had a streak of 18 straight games with a trey to begin the season.  Hassan is already one of the great freshman three-point shooters in school history. Only Paul Seymour, who made 70 threes as a rookie in 1999-2000, has hit more triples in his freshman season than Hassan.  Hassan is second on the list and is on pace to can 61 treys on the year.  Hassan is second on the team in scoring with 10.4 ppg.
BU TOP-10 FRESHMAN THREE-POINTERS MADE
No.  Name  Total  Year
1.  Paul Seymour  70  1999-2000
2. COREY HASSAN  51 2005-06
3. Chaz Carr  45  2001-02
4.  Tremain Byrd  38  1993-94
 Jason Grochowalski  38  2000-01
6. LeVar Folk  35  1995-96
7.  Raja Bell  33  1994-95
8.  Mike Costello  32  1996-97
9.  Mark Daly  22  1988-89
10.  Brian Holden  21  1990-91