Boston College dropped a crucial road league game to a struggling Miami squad 69-58. BC had nearly a week to prepare for the Hurricanes, but the Eagles came out flat and Miami never looked back.
The Eagles trailed the entire game from start to finish as the Hurricanes out-shot BC right from the opening tip.
Miami came out firing out of the gate quickly building a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. Miami almost instantly built up a double digit lead, 16-5, following back-to-back three-pointers from Miami’s star scorer Jack McClinton. Miami led 19-5 after yet another three, their sixth in a row, with under 13 minutes remaining in the half.
The Eagles offense appeared stagnant early as they struggled to penetrate Miami’s 2-3 zone defense. BC was forced into settling for perimeter jumpers, which is not the strength of the offense.
Meanwhile, Miami shot lights out from downtown. The Hurricanes connected on 9-13 three point attempts in the first half alone including several very deep shots well behind NBA range from McClinton. Miami had three players score double figures in the half. Boston College’s Tyrese Rice failed to hit a single field goal in the first 20 minutes.
Despite all of this, BC was still not out of the game trailing 44-32 at the break.
McClinton drained a three to extend Miami’s lead to 15 points, but Joe Trapani countered with his own long ball to make the score 49-37 in favor of Miami. Boston College cut the lead down to single digits with under 12 minutes to play at 52-39, after Tyrese Rice connected on a three on a possession kept alive by a Reggie Jackson offensive board.
BC came within eight points, 61-53, with six minutes to play after a Southern basket and another Rice three. However, this would be as close as the Eagles would get in the second half. Boston College’s comeback efforts were thwarted by their failures to get defensive stops. BC also managed to score only five points in the final five minutes of the game.
Tyrese Rice had, statistically speaking, one of his worst games of the season. Rice was limited to just 3-15 shooting for 11 points. He also had zero assists in the ball game. Adding to BC’s offensive woes was Rakim Sanders’ minimal contribution. Sanders was held without a field goal in the game and finished with two points in just 17 minutes. Sanders’ play left much to be desired as the team struggled to put up points.
Joe Trapani was efficient offensively and scored a team high 17 points in the losing effort. Reggie Jackson chipped in 10 points and seven assists off the bench.
Corey Raji hauled in career high 15 rebounds, including 7 offensive boards, but managed just five points on 1-7 shooting. Raji controlled the glass throughout the game, but missed several easy second chance buckets.
BC maintained a significant rebounding edge in the game and recorded 19 offensive boards, but advantage did not play in the eagles favor. Miami sunk a season high 11 threes in the contest which proved to be the difference.
This loss makes Boston College’s upcoming game versus Florida State even more crucial. Boston College faces crunch time now, as they must make their final push into the tournament. BC still has work left to do to and with three games remaining; BC likely will have to win two of their three final games.
The Eagles have a quick turnaround following this loss. The team hosts Florida State Tuesday night at 9pm.
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