Boston College Basketball: Eagles shoot lights out in second half to run past Friars
Boston College basketball shot 71 percent from the field in the second half to run past Providence.
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Boston College has lost home games to Nicholls State, Harvard and Fairfield. They only have one quality win. Oh, and Jerome Robinson is their only player averaging double figures in scoring.
But on Friday evening everything clicked for the Eagles, as they knocked off New England rival Providence, 79-67, at Conte Forum. Jerome Robinson scored 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, Ky Bowman added 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and three other players, Mo Jeffers, A.J. Turner and Jordan Chatman, scored over 10 points for the Eagles.
While Boston College shot 53 percent from the field for the game, it wasn’t a complete domination for the Eagles.
In the opening half, the Friars were in control of the game. They were playing at their preferred tempo, Jalen Lindsey shut down the Eagles’ leading scorer to just two points and the Friars’ defense as a whole limited the Eagles to just 25 points.
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After Rodney Bullock nailed a transition three, Providence pulled ahead to take a four-point lead into the break.
It seemed like it was only a matter of time until Ed Cooley’s team broke open a game and improved to 11-2 before Big East Conference play opens at the end of the month. Instead, Boston College went unconscious and couldn’t miss a shot.
The Eagles shot 71 percent from the field overall in the second half and drilled an absurd 67 percent of their threes. They moved the ball with precision (13 assists on 20 field goals) and shredded Providence’s normally stellar defense in pick-and-roll situations and slip plays.
And it was Bowman and Robinson who led the way for the Eagles in the second frame.
Bowman, who didn’t score a single point in the opening half, scored all 16 of points in the 2nd. In fact, he scored nine points in the first four minutes of the half and 11 points in the first eight minutes.
Meanwhile, Robinson started to find his rhythm against Lindsey. He hit four three pointers (including a clutch bank shot to stop Providence’s late game rally) and showed off impressive playmaking skills.
Boston College was so good in the second that they turned a 4-point halftime deficit into a 20-point lead. And they even were able to hold off a furious Providence rally.
The Friars implemented a full-court press with 3:45 to play and the Eagles nearly imploded. Boston College was throwing the ball away, making mental mistakes and repeatedly inbounded the ball into the corner (the first rule in breaking a press is never to inbound the ball in either corner).
The Friars went on a 10-0 run in a matter of 42 seconds, and actually cut the Eagles lead down to six.
But that’s when Robinson banked in a three as the dagger to cap the Eagles’ victory. With 1:14 left and the shot clock winding down, the sophomore guard chucked a three pointer that somehow made it’s way into the basket.
Fitting right?
“When I let it go I was like, ‘There is no way this might be going in’,” Robinson said postgame.
Regardless of how they did it, this was a huge confidence builder for the Eagles. Sure, they are only 7-6, but they beat a solid Providence team from a Big East Conference that is the second best league in the country. They are approaching ACC play (they open against Syracuse on the first day of the new year), and they will need some momentum in order to pick up their first victory in league play in two years.
Their freshman point guard, Bowman, has played terrific basketball the last couple of games and Robinson is a scoring machine. If the Eagles can find even more balance, they could win a few more games than expected in the league.
However, you also have to look at the big picture. Boston College is not going to shoot 70+ percent in any half very often, if at all. Also, the ACC is a gauntlet. 12 of the 15 teams in the league are legitimate NCAA Tournament caliber teams. Not all of them will get in, but they all have the capability to do so if they capitalize on opportunities.
On the flip side, this is a bad loss for Providence. The Friars will now enter league play with a sour taste in their mouth. Cooley called the loss “probably the worst since I’ve been at Providence College” and wasn’t happy with the team’s energy level and intensity in the second half.
On the plus side, no one expected Providence to be 10-3 heading into conference play. Remember they lost two star players and have a team filled with young players (they don’t have a single senior on the roster). The Friars can’t let this affect them moving forward because they play Xavier and Butler, both on the road, to open up Big East play.
