Red Foxes Top BU in OT Behind Ituka’s 34 Points

By Mike Ferraro

BOSTON, Mass – Led by 34 points from Jao Ituka, the Marist men’s basketball team earned an 84-79 overtime victory at Boston University on Saturday as the Red Foxes erased an 11-point deficit in the second half.

Marist jumped out to a 16-8 lead at the 10:59 mark of the first half with seven different Red Foxes scoring in that span.

BU took its first lead at 20-19 on two free throws by Jonas Harper at the 7:23 mark.
Jao Ituka scored Marist’s final four points of the first half, and the Red Foxes took a 34-33 lead to the locker room.

A three-pointer by Harper gave the Terriers their largest lead, a 61-50 advantage with 6:20 left in the second half.

BU led by seven with 2:21 remaining, but did not hit a field goal the rest of regulation.

After Jordan Jones and Raheim Sullivan each hit a pair of free throws, Jones’ layup with 51 seconds left cut Marist’s deficit to one. Garrett Pascoe’s two free throws extended BU’s lead to three, but Ituka’s three with 4.4 seconds left tied the score at 68 and sent the game to overtime.

BU led by four on two occasions in overtime, but Matt Herasme’s three with 1:43 remaining gave Marist the lead for good. Raheim Sullivan drained a three on Marist’s next possession, and the Red Foxes went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the last 45 seconds to seal the win. In that span, Ituka drained four free throws, and Herasme swished two.

Marist closes out non-conference play by hosting Bethune Cookman on Wednesday at 7 p.m.