Boston College beat Clemson at their own game in the first half by employing plenty of pressure and half-court trap defense. It was Reggie Jackson's substitution into the game during the first media timeout in the first half that sparked a 25-5 run by the Eagles. Jackson and Elmore were very active defensively and the offense clicked as well. Fans also witnessed the highlight of the season thus far when Rakim Sanders lobbed up an alley-oop to Corey Raji who leaped over a defender and finished while drawing the foul. It was perhaps the best 20 minutes of basketball we have seen this team play. They shot 61% in the first half while limiting Clemson to 38% en route to a 42-25 half-time edge. Rakim Sanders had a 11 points at the break but he was held scoreless in the 2nd half.
Boston College lost some of that edge defensively in the second half as Clemson was able to get it going. The Eagles were able to withstand the heavy full court pressure and made few mistakes in breaking the press. Although Clemson fought back into it Boston College was able to seal the win thanks to Reggie Jackson's free throw shooting (he was 10-10 from the line).
BC held a significant advantage in bench scoring (35-20). Aside from Jackson (team high 18 points and 7 assists) Boston College received some strong contributions from Dallas Elmore, Courtney Dunn, and Tyler Roche. Elmore and Dunn continue to play sound defense and Courtney even added some crucial offensive rebounds and scoring late in the game. Roche nailed two three-pointers included one from well beyond the arc. I thought it was interesting that Skinner had Elmore and Dunn in the lineup at the end of the game instead of Sanders and Raji. This goes to show the confidence he has in these guys.
Coach Al Skinner was most pleased with his team's effort and energy on the floor tonight. He praised the team for "consistently contesting shots" in the first half which allowed them to take a commanding lead.
It is also worth noting that Celtics GM Danny Ainge was in attendance scouting players.
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