D.J. Irving scored 15 points and Boston University clinched the Patriot League title with a 68-64 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon in Worcester.
Dom Morris added 14 points and six rebounds for the Terriers (22-9, 15-3), who are in their first year in the Patriot after leaving America East.
Dave Dudzinski had 20 points for the Crusaders (18-12, 12-6).
BU, which shot 52 percent (including 8-of-19 3-pointers), led 30-28 at the half, but HC opened the second period on a 13-5 run, started by a Dudzinski trey, to take a 41-35 lead.
Trailing 43-38, BU went on a 10-0 run, including 3-pointers from Irving and Travis Robinson, and took a 48-43 lead with 12:36 left. Although the score remained tight the rest of the way, the Terriers never trailed again.
With BU nursing a two-point lead, John Papale hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 left. HC’s Malachi Alexander answered with a trey 24 seconds later, but that would be the Crusaders’ final points. Irving hit two free throws with seven seconds left to cap the scoring.
Both teams open play in the Patriot League tournament on Wednesday. Top-seeded BU will host the winner of Loyola (Md.) and Lafayette, while third-seeded Holy Cross hosts sixth-seeded Lehigh. The semifinals are next Saturday and the championship game March 12.
– Laurent Rivard hit 6-of-8 3-pointers en route to 21 points as Harvard clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title for the fourth straight season with an 80-47 rout of Columbia.
Steve Moundou-Missi added 16 points for the Crimson (24-4, 11-1 Ivy), who maintained their two-game lead over Yale (a 70-63 winner at Pennsylvania). Harvard closes out the season next weekend with games at Yale and Brown, needing one win (or one Yale loss) to advance to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season.
Harvard, which led 39-26 at the half, shot 60 percent from the field and 61 percent from 3-point range (8-for-13). Columbia, meanwhile, shot 34 percent. Jeff Coby led the Lions (18-11, 7-5) — who took Harvard to two overtimes last month in New York — with 11 points and six rebounds.
– In Winston-Salem, N.C., Ryan Anderson scored 24 points as Boston College posted an 80-72 victory over Wake Forest.
Olivier Hanlan netted 17 for the Eagles (8-21, 4-12 ACC), who posted just their third road win of the season.
Devin Thomas and Travis McKie each scored 18 points for Wake Forest (15-14, 5-11), which was outrebounded 36-21.
BC led by six at the break, 30-24, but the hosts grabbed a 42-40 lead with 13:51 left. Patrick Heckmann put BC ahead to stay with a 3-pointer, followed by one from teammate Lonnie Jackson. The difference was three with just under five minutes left after a layup by McKie, but BC then scored five straight — all on Anderson free throws — and kept the margin at a safe distance from there. BC’s last 18 points came at the free throw line.
BC next hosts Florida State on Tuesday night.
– At Matthews Arena, Scott Eatherton had 10 points and 15 rebounds, and he came up with a steal in the closing seconds that set up the game-winning free throws from David Walker in a 54-52 victory over Drexel.
Zach Stahl had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (10-20, 7-9 CAA), who shot just 29 percent but outrebounded the Dragons by 10.
Chris Fouch scored 26 points for Drexel (16-13, 8-8). He hit a pair of 3-pointers to cap a 15-4 run that gave the visitors a 43-48 lead with eight minutes remaining.
NU trailed by five with two minutes left but closed the game on a 7-0 run. It started with a free throw from Stahl, and when Pollard hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, the Huskies were within one. Eatherton then came up with a steal and Walker was fouled shooting a trey. Walker hit all three free throws with six seconds left for the two-point advantage. Fouch missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
NU and Drexel will play again next Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament in Baltimore. NU is seeded fifth and Drexel is fourth.
– Jordan Sibert scored 23 points as Dayton turned away visiting UMass, 86-79.
Trey Davis scored 19 points and Chaz Williams netted 17 for UMass (22-6, 9-5 Atlantic-10), which had a one-point lead at the break, 37-36.
Dayton (20-9, 8-6) opened the second half with 3-pointers from Sibert and Khari Price followed by a three-point play by Sibert to take a 44-37 lead. The Flyers, who never trailed again, pushed the lead to 12 with 5:38 left.
UMass made a late run to get within three with 40 seconds remaining after a layup by Williams, but Dayton hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the win.
UMass next plays at Duquesne on Wednesday.