Close Loss Looks All Too Familiar To Eagles

As Joe Trapani’s desperation 3-point attempt grazed off the front rim, the Boston College men’s basketball team’s last chance at completing their comeback ended in a 66-63 defeat to the No. 10 Duke Blue Devils.

It was an all-too-familiar scenario. This is the third time in four games that BC has lost by four points or fewer to a conference opponent.

Moreover, this is the third time in four games that the Eagles have had a chance to win with less than a minute remaining and have failed to come out on top.

The rollercoaster ride of a game served as a microcosm of the Eagles’ season so far, as they had to claw themselves back into the game only to fall short. Every time it seemed as if BC could put the Blue Devils on the ropes, it was turned away or ended up making questionable decisions.

BC was moving the ball up the floor well and getting good looks near the basket, while its physical guard play helped keep the Duke offense at bay. Late in the first half, however, the Eagle attack started to slow down, and Duke was able to force BC into jump shots near the end of the shot clock. After Rakim Sanders had cut the Duke lead to one with five minutes left in the first half, the Blue Devils responded with a 13-4 run.

“The plays at the end of the first half were the difference in the ball game,” said head coach Al Skinner. “Our execution was poor at the end of the half, and they were able to go on a bit of a run. In the first half, Reggie turned over the ball a little too much, and we didn’t get into our offenses as quickly as we needed to.”

During the second half, the Eagles fought their way back into the game on multiple occasions, but repeatedly fell short of taking the lead. They were getting close, but still lacked a spark to ignite the crowd and put the Eagles on top.

That spark is something the Eagles have been looking for all season, as every time it seems they are starting to get their season on track (the Providence-Michigan-Miami winning streak), they take two steps backwards (the losses to Harvard and Rhode Island that followed that winning streak).

Last year, the Eagles had that spark in the middle of ACC play. Answering every comeback attempt in last year’s Duke match-up, Tyrese Rice and the Eagles shocked the No. 6 Blue Devils. Before that, it was Sanders’ ability to rise above a sea of defenders and tip in a Rice miss that beat Virginia Tech as time expired.

As a team still searching for a leader, BC’s inconsistency is often evident and makes it difficult for the team to overcome its weaknesses.

With about six minutes left, lone senior Tyler Roche caught a pass in transition and fired what seemed to be one of his patented momentum-swinging 3-pointers.

Yet, just as it seems to have all season, the shot rolled off the front rim and Duke’s Jon Scheyer put a damper on things by hitting two free throws to extend the lead to nine.
Two possessions later, Sanders sprinted the length of the court and blocked a Nolan Smith layup in midair to set up a layup for Corey Raji at the other end. Sanders looked as if the pain from his ankle was finally wearing off, as he elevated to the point where his head was nearly above the rim. He had 13 points, but more importantly, he was able to get to the basket and shot at a much better percentage (six of 12 from the field) than he had been recently.

“The pain in my foot is slowly but surely starting to go away,” Sanders said. “I’m starting to get in game shape, and I’m feeling better on the court.”

Spotty free-throw shooting by the Blue Devils left the door open for the Eagles, but they could never get that big play to push them over the hump. Reggie Jackson did his best to try and provide the heroics by hitting a three with 16 seconds left that cut the lead to one.

But, with the game on the line, he tried to do too much the next time down, hesitating with the ball as time wound down. The pass finally hit Trapani for a decent look with two seconds left, but the rushed shot fell short. This sequence showed that BC has players who want to take the shot but aren’t fully aware of how to execute it.

“He should have known that Joe was going to be open,” Skinner said. “He held it just a little too long to get the ball to Joe in time to get a comfortable look.”

As they have all season, the Eagles showed moments of exceptional basketball, but couldn’t put the entire package together. The Eagles are getting close, but after their sixth home loss, they showed there is still much work to be done.