In an even matchup on senior night at Conte Forum, the Eagles were unable to burst the bubble of Florida State, losing 74-70.
Aaron Thomas—who led all players with 26 points—hit free throws with 12.8 seconds left, putting the Seminoles up by three. That was enough to seal it, as Joe Rahon and Olivier Hanlan missed shots from range in the closing seconds.
The team’s lone senior, guard Danny Rubin, was honored before the game and started the night off by hitting a 3-pointer from the corner.
Head coach Steve Donahue’s starting five included not only the captain, but also KC Caudill, who has seen an uptick in minutes in the team’s last few outings, which included his career-high 23-minute performance against Wake Forest. The junior center functioned as a body in the paint to combat Florida State’s 7-foot-3 big-man Michael Ojo.
Caudill’s presence helped keep Ojo scoreless and without a rebound in 10 minutes of play in the first half. With Caudill handling FSU’s threat in the paint, Ryan Anderson was able to play on the wing of the zone, but it also kept the junior out of the paint. Anderson did not have a rebound, nor did he take a shot in the first half, as he failed to make it into the box score until he got a second-chance layup from his own board with left 12:46 remaining in the second half.
Once Caudill got into foul trouble with less than 11 minutes left in the game, Magarity left the court with an injury. Eddie Odio replaced the duo and knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 50-49 advantage.
After the Seminoles quickly took back the lead, the Eagles came back midway through the second period of play. Hanlan, who finished with 20 points, kissed the ball off the glass to get BC back its lead. The sophomore guard gained confidence as he drove just a few possessions later, and Anderson tipped in Hanlan’s miss to cap a 10-2 run.
Patrick Heckmann’s 3-point play on the Eagles’ next trip down the floor furthered BC’s lead.
While it looked like Magarity would be out for the rest of the game, the freshman returned to make a huge impact. He shuttled out of position as the anchor of BC’s zone to attack the FSU ball handler at the top of the key. While he finished with just two points and rebounds, Magarity was involved in scrums under the hoop coming down the stretch and forced the Seminoles to make bad passes. The visitors turned the ball over six times in the second half.
Okaro White was able to use his length down low to score 24 points. His bucket with less than two minutes left gave Florida State a 69-68 lead.
Needing a basket to take back the lead, the Eagles could not get an open look. Heckmann fumbled the ball, and while he was able to recover it, the officials blew their whistles and the possession arrow was in favor of the visitors.
On the ensuing possession, Devon Bookert extended FSU’s lead with a free throw, but he missed his first from the line.
With the shot clock off and the chance to tie the game, a full court press from the ’Noles forced BC to turn the ball over. Lonnie Jackson’s pass to Hanlan bounced off the sophomore’s knees, giving the ball back to FSU.
The Eagles’ inability to finish the game off caught up to them again, with just one game remaining before they head to the ACC Tournament.
