The Bison men’s basketball team was able to finish out the regular season with a win over Boston University. The Orange and Blue fell earlier in the week to Army West Point. Xander Rice ’23 had a career high 25 points in the contest, but it was not enough to push the Bison past the Black Knights. The game finished in a 73-60 defeat. 

The Orange and Blue took on Boston University in Sojka Pavilion. Andrew Funk ’22 celebrated his Senior Day in style with a big 15 points, five rebounds and five assists to lift the Bison over Boston University in the regular-season finale. Funk was not the only Bison in double digits, as he was joined by five of his teammates. Rice once again led the Bison with 19 and was 11-for-13 from the free throw line. First-years also came up big with Ian Motta ’25 scoring seven points and Josh Bascoe ‘25 posting four points and five rebounds. 

The Terriers opened the game with the lead, but after a 12-0 run from the Bison, their lead withered away. The Terriers led 41-37 at halftime, but the Bison went on a run once again, this time a 13-0 run. The Boston Terriers did not have an answer for the Bison late in the game. The score remained close and within just a couple of points at times, but the Bison finished out on top. 

“This was a great team win for us. We were coming off a tough loss where we did not play like ourselves. I think we bounced back well and were able to knock down good shots tonight. It was nice to end the regular season with a win and have the momentum going into the Patriot League Tournament,” Funk said. 

The Bison improved to 8-22 overall and 5-13 in the Patriot League with the win. The Orange and Blue earned the ninth seed in the Patriot League Tournament that begins next week. As a result they faced the No. 8 Lafayette in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday in Easton, Pennsylvania. 

In an extremely competitive and close matchup, the Bison emerged victorious by a score of 82-81 in overtime. A well executed sideline inbounds play resulted in a Funk layup with 16 seconds left that gave the Bison the crucial victory.

The Bison trailed by as many as 13 points throughout the contest, but managed to rally for the victory. Funk finished with a team-high 21 points and moved into 10th place on the all time Bison scoring list. Andre Screen ’24 scored 16 points, had two offensive rebounds, and threw a beautiful bounce back for Funk’s game-winning layup. Malachi Rhodes ’23 had a major impact on the boards for the Bison with a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 12 points.

With the victory, the Bison advanced to the quarterfinals and will travel to Colgate for the upcoming game. The game will take place on Thursday Mar. 3 at 7 p.m. The two teams faced off twice during the regular season with Colgate emerging victorious in both matchups.