Teams #114 & #115 - Boston and Southeast Missouri State

On Saturday November 26th, 2022, I saw my 114th and 115th Division One College Basketball teams. On this occasion, I saw the Boston University Terriers take on the Southeast Missouri State Hawks. This game was part of a four team MTE hosted by Milwaukee called The Cream City Classic. Boston is the 2nd team that I have seen out of the Patriot. Boston has a 4-1 record on the year, the one loss on the year came to UConn who has looked great. They most recently played New Hampshire and they won 64-57. The leading scorer for Boston is Walter Whyte and he is averaging 16.2 PPG. SEMO has a 4-1 record on the year. They most recently played William Woods and they won by a score of 87-49. The leading scorer for the Hawks is Phillip Russell and he is averaging 13.8 PPG. 

Being this was a battle of a pair of 4-1 teams, I had no idea what to expect. On paper Boston U looked like the better team. However, the Terriers struggled in the first half. Boston scored ten points in the opening five minutes but would only manage to score eight in the remaining 15 minutes. At one point in the half, Boston had more airballed shots (5) than made shots (3). It was a half to forget for the Terriers. The leading scorer for the Terriers at the half was Ethan Brittain-Watts with five points. SEMO on the other hand played great defense in the first half. After giving up points early to Boston, they locked in and did not allow anything easy for Boston. The Hawks had four players (Phillip Russell, Israel Barnes, Chris Harris & Aquan Smart) with five points to lead them in the first half. At the half the Hawks found themselves up by a score of 28-18. 

In the second half, both teams remembered how to play basketball again. The game was more free flowing and moe points were certainly scored. SEMO lead by ten for most of the second half but Boston made a couple of runs to make it chop the lead down to as little as four points. Phillip Russell carried SEMO in the 2nd half. Despite being the smallest guy on the court, he had no fear. Russell finished the game with a game high 21 points. I thought Boston played better in the second half and at times played well enough to win the game. The leading scorer for Boston was Jonas Harper who had 15 points. The Terriers dropped the contest by a score of 63-52.

My next game is the second game of this Saturday doubleheader as UC Davis and Milwaukee will tip off shortly.