BC Stumbles Against Wake Forest

Enhanced Box Score

Boston College’s 5-game winning streak came to an abrupt end Sunday when the Eagles fell to Wake Forest by a score of 93-76. Boston College’s strong first half was not enough to hold down the highflying Demon Deacons. Despite holding down a lead in the first half, the Eagle’s stagnant second half play allowed Wake Forest to surge ahead and win in convincing fashion.

Boston College had Wake Forest on the ropes in the first half. Boston College was able to keep pace with Wake Forest by controlling the glass and strong play inside, despite Wake Forest’s significant size advantage. Josh Southern contributed 10 first half points in addition to strong post defense. His play was a major reason BC held a plus 9 rebounding edge in the first half, including 8 offensive boards. The Eagles led by as many as 7 in the first following a Joe Trapani three-pointer to put BC up 24-17 at the 11-minute mark. But Wake Forest’s star Jeff Teague would prevent BC from pulling away. After Tyrese Rice drained a three to put BC up 35-34, Teague countered with a three of his own to bring the Deacons ahead 37-35. Teague scored 21 first half points, yet BC closed out of the half with a slim 47-46 lead.

 Everything that BC did well in the first half was undone in the second. BC’s lack of execution on both ends of the floor allowed Wake to run wild.  Wake Forest was able to get out in front and create easy fast break opportunities, similar to the way the first meeting between the teams. Meanwhile, BC was not able to create open looks on offense. On several possessions BC was not able to get the ball inside to set up the offense and they were forced to settle for tough outside shots as the shot clock expired. The crucial momentum swing for Wake occurred with 17 minutes left in the second half, when Rice stole the ball for what looked to be an easy layup to tie up the game at 54. But Rice’s layup was blocked on the other end by L.D. Williams, and Teague then hit a three-pointer in transition. Wake Forest led by 5 at this point and never looked back. BC was able to cut the score to 64-61 with under 13 minutes to play after Rice’s nifty scooping lay-in. However, Tyrese would injure his right calf on the play and was forced to come out of the game at a crucial moment for the Eagles.

Joe Trapani led BC offensively with 19 points. Trapani shot 6-8 in the game, including 3-5 from downtown. Rice finished with 18 points but also committed 6 turnovers. Corey Raji played all 40 minutes in this contest and finished with 14 points and 7 boards. Southern chipped in 12 points on a perfect shooting day (4-4 FGs, 4-4 FTs), Rakim Sanders scored a season low 1 point in the game. Sanders was bothered by a right wrist injury sustained against Virginia and he was forced to leave late in the game after re-aggravating this injury. Sanders was 0-7 from the field and looked uncomfortable and out of place the majority of the game. Once again, Jeff Teague burned the Eagles for 27 points and 8 assists. Aminu finished with 26 points, 21 of which came in the second half.