BC 83, Sacred Heart 73: Eagles Persevere for Third Straight Win

It may have been Boston College’s highest point total of the year, but it wasn’t their most even effort.

In spite of that, the Eagles defeated the Sacred Heart Pioneers, 83-73, at Conte Forum on Wednesday night. Boston College is now 5-7 and has put together its first three-game win streak of the season.

The Eagles started the game off well, eventually getting out to a lead of about 6-9 points, which held consistently into the second half. For much of this period, the Eagles and Pioneers matched baskets, with SHU unable to close in and BC unable to pull away. Boston College was eventually able to stretch their lead up to 13 points in the second half, but it collapsed quickly as Sacred Heart went on a 12-0 run to cut their deficit to one point.

That was as close as they got, however, and BC was able to increase their lead steadily once again, pulling away towards the end to win by ten points. BC’s 83 points are the most they’ve scored this year; their previous high was in the Bryant game with 75.

The game could have been a lot more comfortable for the Eagles, but outside of having a high shooting percentage (55.3%), BC was deficient in other areas of the game. Sacred Heart shot very well, to the tune of 50.9%, and the Eagles let them hang around in the game far too long; fortunately for them, however, when the Pioneers got it to a one-point game, the Eagles responded with a quick 7-0 run to give themselves breathing room. That, at least, showed some resolve.

Shane Gibson of Sacred Heart tormented Boston College all night. He ended up with 25 points, making 5 of his 7 three-point attempts. As for the Eagles, four made it into double figures: Matt Humphrey (18), Dennis Clifford (16), Ryan Anderson (13), and Lonnie Jackson (12).

Offensively, the stats are somewhat deceiving. Though the Eagles shot 55% for the game, they also made some questionable decisions with the basketball and didn’t always take good shots. In fact, despite the fact that BC had an obvious height advantage on the Pioneers, almost half of BC’s shots were three-point attempts (22 of 47). The good news is that they made a majority of their shots anyway, and 50% from beyond the arc; because it worked out this time, there is nothing about which to complain.

The Eagles’ rebounding was not particularly impressive, as they tied the Pioneers at 23 apiece, though rebound totals in general were lower since, obviously, more shots went in the hoop. Sacred Heart also got more offensive rebounds, 5-3.

Turnovers were again a problem for BC, as they committed 13 (seven in the first half, six in the second). Patrick Heckmann led the team with four of them in just sixteen minutes of playing time; unfortunately, he did not have a good performance.

Matt Humphrey, however, did. He didn’t have a good game at all against Bryant, but he was one of BC’s stars of the game on Wednesday. He only made one poor decision to my recollection the whole night in taking a needless three early in the shot clock while trying to run out the clock, but otherwise, he had his best game as an Eagle. Dennis Clifford also played well with 16 points and six rebounds, and he was not afraid to go down low and draw contact, which is certainly a good sign. Ryan Anderson again looked strong as well, netting 13 points and leading BC with seven rebounds.

It wasn’t the best game they’ve played this year, but they played well enough to win, and the win is all that matters. There are, however, things which need to be fixed over the long break.

The Eagles will be off for Christmas and come back next Thursday, December 29, against Harvard. Every game the rest of the way will either be televised or streamed on ESPN3.