The Top 5 Worst Boston College Sports Moments of 2014
By Joe Micik
2014 Top 5 Worst Boston College Sports Moments — #4
Boston College basketball loses to Notre Dame; February 1
There were other factors involved and perhaps he is just a scapegoat, but most Boston College fans would remember this as the game that Olivier Hanlan helped give away.
In fact, he might have lost it for the Eagles in regulation if not for a free throw miss.
Boston College had a 66-63 lead over Notre Dame with ten seconds to go. Notre Dame’s Garrick Sherman hit a two to make it a one-point game with eight seconds left. The Irish knew they had to foul, and with the Eagles in the 1-and-1, the situation was tense.
Hanlan received the ball and got fouled immediately. He then proceeded to miss the front end of the 1-and-1, which Notre Dame rebounded. With one second remaining and the Eagles up a point, Hanlan fouled Eric Atkins and sent him to the free throw line.
Luckily for Boston College, Atkins made only one of two, and overtime resulted.
Hanlan missed the only shot attempt he took in overtime, but his team got it tied 73-73 inside the final moments of overtime on a Ryan Anderson layup and some free throws. Then, Eric Atkins shot a three from the left wing with two seconds to go, getting the bucket and sealing Notre Dame’s 76-73 win.
Guess who was guarding Atkins on the game-winning three? You guessed it: Hanlan.
His last ten seconds of regulation were brutal, missing the front end of a 1-and-1 and committing a needless foul which should have lost BC the game right there, but the inevitable was delayed by five minutes.
Games like this were nothing new for Boston College, who under Steve Donahue were incapable of closing out the vast majority of teams they played (with an ironic exception of #1 Syracuse). This one hurt more as it was against a rival and featured the team’s star player melting down in what became a virtual buzzer-beater loss.
Of all the games Boston College found ways to lose in their disastrous 2013-14 season, this was up there with the worst.