Another second-half meltdown for the Eagles
On Wednesday night, BC lost 97-94 in second overtime to Notre Dame despite leading by as many as 14 in the second half.
Chad Venning, in his return to the starting lineup, got the Eagles on the board with an and-1 finish. It was Notre Dame, however, jumping out to an early 11-6 lead courtesy of 5 Sir Mohammed points. BC was struggling to find rhythm offensively, with a couple missed bunnies and a Beadle turnover, but right before the first media timeout Donald Hand knotted the game up with a transition elbow triple. On the ensuing ND possession, Chad Venning blocked a shot into the bench and pumped some more life into the (admittedly sparse) BC crowd. Neither side could gain separation over the first 10 minutes of the game, as ND cashed in on some offensive rebounds while Dion Brown kept the Eagles afloat with 7 early points.
It wasn’t until around the 8-minute mark that either team was able to break the deadlock. ND had back-to-back trips of and-1 buckets, including a made 3, to push them ahead by 5. Brown stayed hot with a 3 of his own – an encouraging sign for his aggressiveness and confidence in this Eagle offense. He followed his made 3 with a nice drive to the cup before kicking to a wide-open Fred Payne for 3. Roger McFarlane found his shooting stroke to the tune of 5 straight points for the Eagles, and we found ourselves tied up again at 31 with 3:38 left in the first half. This time it was BC making a push out of a timeout, as Fred Payne hit two straight triples from the top of the key before Chad Venning collected an easy bucket off of a nice step-through. The nice run gave the Eagles a 6-point lead at the half.
Notre Dame started the second half with an and-1 bucket, giving Brown his third personal and cutting the Eagle’s lead to 3. McFarlane responded by drilling back-to-back treys, giving him 13 points on the night. BC was able to capitalize off an ensuing ND turnover via Venning, who barrelled down the lane for an and-1 play. Just two minutes out of halftime, the Eagles had built their biggest lead of the game at 12. The Eagles’ run was fueled by some strong defense, forcing 4 turnovers in four minutes and getting out quickly in transition. ND was able to stabilize the offense and put some points on the board, cutting the Eagle’s lead to nine at the 13-minute mark, but BC was playing with some momentum and confidence. Josh Beadle forced yet another turnover and finished an incredibly slick layup at the rack, restoring BC’s lead to double-digits. With so many turnovers, the Eagle’s offense wasn’t stagnating in the half court – their ability to put together these kinds of stretches will be key in this stretch run.
ND began to chip away at the Eagle’s lead, drawing as close as 6 at the 9:50 mark, but the Eagles pushed it back to 11 two minutes later. At the 6-minute mark, Venning had a pass intercepted and Burton converted on the other end to cut the deficit to 4, but Venning atoned with a quick 2 the other way. Chas Kelley – who didn’t play in the first half – was hooked after committing his second turnover in favor of Beadle, but Burton continued to cause problems and forced another BC turnover. It was Venning who served as the steadying hand for the Eagles offensively, providing a consistent outlet down low as ND made a push down the stretch. Burton scored four straight to make it a one-possession game with 2:10 on the clock; in the final minute ND managed to tie it before BC took the lead once more on a sick Brown scoop lay.
It came down to an all-too familiar scene from this season: Knotted at 80, Eagle’s ball, shot clock turned off, out of a timeout with a chance to win. BC managed to successfully inbound the ball, but Venning’s midrange fadeaway rimmed out and sent the Eagles to overtime for the second straight game.
BC opened overtime with a shot clock violation. Burton then put the Irish ahead, but Venning once again was the answer. Multiple offensive rebounds for the Irish continued to haunt the Eagles, as they continually gave up second-chance points. Two Irish trips to the foul line sandwiched around an Eagles turnover looked like perhaps the dagger with under a minute to play, but Donald Hand drilled a triple to tie the game again at 85. No one would score in the remaining 40 seconds, with both Venning and Burton missing shots for their teams, and we headed for BC’s 5th overtime period in its last two games.
Grant rolled with a lineup of Payne, Brown, Hand, McFarlane and Venning down the stretch in the first OT and stuck with them in the second. Brown parachuted out of the rafters on the first possession for an offensive board and connected on the ensuing two free throws, but ND answered right back with a dunk. With 3:12 to play, the Irish led by 3 and a Tae Davis layup extended the lead to 5. A Venning layup got it back down to 3, and an Irish flagrant 2 foul gifted BC two free points and a possession – which Dion Brown converted via a layup. At 94-93 with a minute to play, the Eagles then conceded two free throws to the Irish – but Burton missed them both. On the other end, Hand’s last-second triple hit the top of the backboard to cause a shot clock violation and give ND the ball back. ND’s Njie took advantage by connecting on an and-1 bucket, fouling Venning out of the game and putting the Irish up by 1. Dion Brown missed a tough double-clutch midrange fadeaway, and that would complete the Eagle’s second half collapse. BC went on to lose, 97-94, to suffer the Holy War sweep.