Coming out with a new offensive strategy for the second half, the Boston College Eagles pulled out a 73-56 victory over the Mercer Bears at Conte Forum yesterday afternoon.
Although the box score portrays a convincing victory, the Eagles did not look to be in control of this game until the second half.
"Overall, we righted some wrongs in the second half," said head coach Al Skinner. "We spread the floor [in the first half] to create some offense, [but] we weren't making the shots."
Playing a zone for much of the half against BC's flex offense, the Bears presented many challenges for a young team. The zone slowed down the Eagles offense and forced the team to shoot 16 3-pointers in the first half alone, while only making four of them. Coupled with a lack of rebounding on offense and defense, the first half became a back-and-forth exchange of baskets, with the Bears taking the momentum going into the half tied at 28.
The second half represented a completely different strategy by the Eagles on offense and defense. Rebounding became the difference-maker in the end, though. The Eagles were out-rebounded 27-17 in the first half, but came back to out-rebound the Bears 26-18 in the second half.
"We started to get stops [in the second half] and finished it off by getting the rebounds," Rice said. Mercer grabbed 13 offensive boards in the first half, compared to six in the second. Defensive rebounds also translated to the offensive side of the ball. The Eagles were able to get up the court faster and avoid facing a set-up zone as much as they did in the first half.
"Our [second half] offense came within the 3-point line, not outside of it," Skinner said.
On offense, the Eagles stopped shooting from the outside and started to get the ball down low, where Shamari Spears and Rakim Sanders provided a nice one-two punch. Spears finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Sanders chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.
2008 Woodie Awards
