(AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Another year, another heartbreaking loss to Duke. Boston College came just inches short of advancing to the ACC Tournament Semi-Finals when Rakim Sanders deep three point shot clanged off the front rim as the Eagles fell to Duke 66-65.
On a night when BC did not shoot particularly well, 38% as a team, their defense stepped up and Biko Paris provided some much needed offense down the stretch to give the Eagles a fighting chance down the stretch.
BC had multiple chances to score in the final 35 seconds. The first of which came when Rakim Sanders received a pass on the baseline, but his shot was blocked out of bounds by Duke’s Singler. On the inbounds pass, Biko Paris tried to force the ball into a double-covered Trapani resulting in a steal with just 14 seconds to play.
Boston College’s final play looked botched from the start. Sanders tried to get the ball into Trapani but ultimately threw the ball to Roche near center court. Roche tossed the ball back to Sanders who dribbled twice and launched an NBA-range three with 2.7 seconds still on the clock. The shot hit the front rim and the horn sounded, sending the Eagles packing.
Here is Andy Katz take on the final BC possession. This sheds some light on what was going on.
"Rakim Sanders missed on a chance to foul Gerald Henderson on his ultimate game-winning bucket. And Tyrese Rice wasn't supposed to call a timeout with 10.6 seconds left, but the BC coaches felt Rice didn't think the ball would be inbounded. It was and the Eagles then had to call another timeout with 5.5 seconds left when they got the ball across midcourt. The play was for Sanders to get the ball to Joe Trapani to start a cut toward the basket. But Duke did a good job of denying Trapani the ball, forcing Sanders to launch a deep 3-pointer that missed."
I was curious as to why BC would call two TOs in a row like that to waste precious time, but it seems as though this was not part of Skinner's plans. With our troubled in-bounding the ball, I think we might be better off letting Rice just run the offense and create in a situation like this.
Biko Paris continues to improve as he kept BC in the game with his hot shooting. Paris was a perfect 5-5 form the floor, including 3-3 from three-point range. His 15 points came at crucial junctures in the game as well.
Tyrese Rice scored 17 points, but more importantly had only one turnover in the game despite constant pressure from the Duke defense.
Rakim Sanders struggled on this night. He seemed to settle for too many perimeter shots and hit only one of his seven three-pointers.
Corey Raji hauled in seven offensive rebounds, but struggled to get the put backs and finished with seven points.
Kyle Singler clearly got the better of Joe Trapani on this occasion. Singler’s stat line was impressive: 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 blocks while playing all 40 minutes. Trapani scored 12 points on 4-12 shooting to go with his 9 boards.
BC’s Reggie Jackson left the game early in the first half with a bruised elbow. The team clearly missed his energy and scoring ability off the bench. The good news is that he is expected to be ready to play next week.
Josh Southern also left the game in the second half with a strained shoulder. He suffered the injury after a Duke player blocked his shot and landed on top of him, a questionable no-call to say the least.
BC will await their fate on selection Sunday. At this point it appears they are a lock for the tournament.
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