The Eagles finish with 6 double-digit scorers
The Boston College men’s basketball faced a halftime deficit against the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday night in Chestnut Hill. But they dominated the second half and six Eagles finished with double-digit points, highlighted by 20 points from Claudell Harris and 19 from Devin McGlockton.
Both teams started the game strong on offense and it was BC that got the scoring started on their first possession after Quinten Post won the tip and scored in the post on an assist from Jaeden Zackery. On BC’s next trip down the court, Post assisted Zackery on a layup, but Louisville hit a three to go up 5-4. Post assisted Zackery on another layup and then hit a three after another pass from Zackery on BC’s next possession to give BC a 9-5 lead in the early stages.
After the first TV timeout, the Eagles led 11-9 and had made five of their first seven field goals, with every bucket also coming off an assist. With 13:56 left in the first half, Louisville made a free throw to move ahead 15-14, but Chas Kelly also hit two free throws about 20 seconds later to put BC back in front and mark the sixth lead change of the game.
But in the span of less than three minutes, the Cardinals sank one jumper and three layups to go on a quick 8-0 and claim the biggest lead of the game, 23-16. With Post back in the game, BC’s offense found its rhythm again and, after Post knocked down a three, the Eagles pulled within one, forcing Louisville to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Cardinals converted an and-one, but the Eagles scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 29 points apiece with under seven minutes left in the first half. Both teams went back and forth over the next few minutes, but Louisville led 34-32 after a TV timeout paused the game with 3:52 left.
But Lousiville got the better of the Eagles on the other side of the timeout: they went on a 10-2 run in two minutes. But BC was able to claw back within four points after an and-one from Mason Madsen and a layup from McGlockton. Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield made a layup and converted an and-one to end the scoring for the first half.
Louisville led the game at halftime, 47-39, and BC’s defense made the 8-16 Cardinals look like world beaters on offense. BC actually had a slightly higher field goal percentage (53.3% compared to 51.4%), but Louisville attempted seven more shots and three more free throws than the Eagles and outrebounded BC 20-12. Quinten Post had 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and four blocks at the intermission, but despite his great performance, BC still trailed by eight points.
Madsen, sporting pink shoes, a mini ponytail, and a white headband, nailed a three on BC’s first possession of the second half and assisted on a McGlockton layup to bring BC within three, 47-44. The teams traded buckets over the next three minutes, but the Eagles hit two threes in a row, one by Harris and one by Post, to tie the game at 54 points with 15:09 remaining.
BC finally took the lead again on a McGlockton layup, which he followed with two free throws on the Eagles’ next possession. Donald Hand scored his first points of the night on a jumper to put BC up by six points, 60-54, with 13:27 left in the half.
Claudell Harris scored his ninth and tenth points of the night on a jumper that gave BC a seven-point lead with 12:19 remaining. The Eagles went on a quick 6-0 thanks to a few Louisville turnovers and forced the Cardinals to call a timeout with BC leading 68-55; the game was all but decided after that.
Over the next six minutes, BC’s offense continued to roll, while the Cardinals struggled to hit their shots. The Eagles led the contest by a score of 76-64 with 6:05 remaining in the second half, but the Cardinals cut their deficit to eight points after Post committed his fourth foul and Louisville converted the and-one. They cut into BC’s lead even further after they made two free throws, but Claudell Harris hit another three to give BC a 79-70 lead with 4:33 left in the game.
The ponytailed Mason Madsen laced a three-pointer with 2:33 left to give BC an eleven-point lead, 84-73. A few possessions later, Claudell Harris sank a sweet stepback three, giving him 20 points in the game. Boston College walked away with an 89-77 win, moving to 14-10 on the season. McGlockton (19 points), Post (17), Harris (20), Zackery (10), Madsen (11), and Hand (10) all scored double-digits and helped carry BC to a nice come-from-behind victory. The Eagles will return to action on Saturday when they play the 15-9 Miami Hurricanes at Conte Forum.