Boston College Eagles Come Up Short at Florida State, Lose 69-66

Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

After beating Wake Forest earlier in the week, the Boston College Eagles are back to their typical ways: losing close games. On Saturday afternoon, it was the Florida State Seminoles who vanquished BC, taking a 69-66 decision in Tallahassee. With the loss, Boston College falls to 11-14 (3-9) on the season.

The start of the game was quite rough for the Eagles, as they eventually fell behind 24-12 with just over six minutes to go in the first half. During that stretch, BC was getting out-rebounded by over a two-to-one margin and Florida State had little trouble collecting offensive rebounds. The Eagles’ defensive possessions were also poor, allowing FSU to shoot at about a 60% clip for much of the half.

Shortly thereafter, BC staged a huge momentum shift with a 9-0 run and was able to work their deficit to a much more manageable five points at the half. With some more plugging away, the Eagles were able to take a lead with about 13 minutes to go in the game on a Patrick Heckmann three. Unfortunately for BC, that was the only lead they held in the game; for essentially all of the remainder of the contest, BC trailed FSU by single-digits but was unable to break through again after the game was tied at 47-47. The Eagles had a chance at the end, but Ryan Anderson missed a wide-open, game-tying three attempt as time expired.

Florida State shot 51% from the floor and 54% from beyond the arc, speaking to what at times was some very bad defense by the Eagles. BC shot 44% overall but 56% from beyond the arc, which is an uplifting sign, but also one that suggests the Eagles still live and die by the three-pointer. Without it, BC probably doesn’t stage their comeback.

Had Boston College not played so poorly for the first 14 minutes of the game, it is absolutely conceivable that they could have won. Give BC credit for being able to come back from a double-digit deficit on the road to be able to keep the game respectable, but ultimately, it was another inconsistent effort that cost them a victory.

Eddie Odio again made some flashy big plays, including a dunk and a big block near the end of regulation while also managing nine points off the bench, and freshman Olivier Hanlan had another excellent offensive game, leading all BC scorers with 19 points. Michael Snaer of FSU had the most of anyone with 21.

If BC won all or most of these very close games in which they’ve been involved this year, their season outlook might be very different. Regardless, we have known for some time that the 2012-13 season will amount to little. Boston College will attempt to get back on track at home on Tuesday night against Maryland.