Terriers Knock Off Oregon State, 96-78; BU Earns First Postseason Win Since 1959
BU to host Morehead State on Monday

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CORVALLIS, Ore. - John Holland scored a game-high 26 points and Carlos Strong added 22 to lead the Boston University men's basketball team to a 96-78 victory at Oregon State on Wednesday night in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. With their first postseason win since 1959, the Terriers improve to 20-13 and will next host the Ohio Valley Conference's Morehead State (24-10) on Monday in the quarterfinals.

Playing against its first Pac-10 opponent since the 2002-03 season, BU briefly trailed 5-0 against the defending CBI champion Beavers before going on a 12-4 run to take the lead for good. With an earlier victory against Indiana, first-year head coach Patrick Chambers earned his second win of the season against a major conference opponent, a feat last accomplished by the Terriers during the 1986-87 season.

Featuring the America East's top scoring offense, BU dissected the Beavers' renowned 1-3-1 zone defense for a season-high 96 points. Topping their previous season-best in fastbreak points by 14 with 26 total, the Terriers recorded a season-high 22 assists against 14 turnovers and had five players score in double figures for the third time this season.They shot 38-for-67 (.567) and 12-for-32 (.375) from beyond the arc.

A two-time first-team All-America East honoree, Holland went 11-for-16 and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, while Strong hit nine field goals off 18 attempts to become the 30th Terrier to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. Tyler Morris was a perfect 4-for-4 in 3-pointers to finish with 18 points, and Corey Lowe (12 pts.) tied a career-high in assists with nine to surpass Brett Brown ('83) for fifth all-time in assists at BU (404). Jeff Pelage posted a game-high 10 rebounds and had a career-high three steals.

Jared Cunningham led OSU (14-18) with 21 points, while Joe Burton had seven rebounds. Both Calvin Haynes and Lathen Wallace recorded 15 points each, and Roeland Schaftenaar added 12 more in the team's second-worst home loss of the year. The Beavers shot 24-for-56 (.429) and won the rebound battle, 37-33.

Ahead 19-17 with 11:22 remaining in the first half, Pelage scored four consecutive points to ignite a 23-4 run that that included four three-pointers and two dunks that left the Beavers stunned. In one segment, Morris drained a 3-pointer and hit another one 10 seconds later when Strong picked the ball away from Burton and then heaved a pass cross-court to his classmate.

Holding a 46-27 lead at the half, Morris scored BU's first five points and then assisted on Holland's trey to keep the momentum going and prevent any chance of a OSU rally. Eventually, the lead was pushed to as high as 28 with 6:31 remaining in the contest.

The Terriers' offense could not be stopped in the second, as the team shot a stifling 62.5 percent while finishing with a season-high 44 points in the paint. BU went 26-for-35 (.743) inside the 3-point line against the Beavers to extend an already team-record 33 games played to 34. BU also recorded its 20th win of the season, marking the program's 12th overall 20+ win season and first since 2004-05.

Strong's performance gives the Terriers three active 1,000-point scorers. Holland alone has 634 points on the season, the second most ever recorded by a Terrier. The program's No. 3 all-time scorer Lowe with 1,805 points hit one 3-pointer to move into a tie-for-second in the America East for career made 3-pointers at 313.

BU will next face off against Morehead State in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Eagles defeated Colorado State, 74-60, at home earlier in the night. Tip-off time for Monday's game at Case Gymnasium is still to be determined.