BC falls in Overtime thriller to Providence
By Jack Salmon
Some nights basketball can be cruel- and Tuesday night was a prime example as BC lost a very hard fought game to their rivals, the Providence Friars. The 113th meeting between the two schools became an instant classic, complete with 13 lead changes, 30 ties, and a buzzer-beating shot that forced a overtime. Ultimately for the Eagles the shots stopped falling for Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman late in overtime and Providence was able to escape with a difficult road win.
Jordan Chatman led the way for the Eagles, with a season high 28 points on 8-12 shooting. Chatman played his best game of the season Tuesday night, as he was connecting on shots from all over the floor, drilling three 3 pointers, scoring a number of difficult layups in traffic, and knocking down his mid-range shots. His offensive production helped make-up for Ky Bowman’s rough night. Bowman quickly found himself in foul trouble in the first half and had to sit for a significant amount of time. Following this he could never really get into a rhythm shooting. He finished the game with 17 points, but that was on a very inefficient 6-19 shooting night. Along with Chatman and Bowman, the Eagles had three other double-digit scorers, as Wynston Tabbs, Jairus Hamilton, and Steffon Mitchell all cracked the ten point mark. Tabbs continued to show his potential as he matched Bowman with 17 points, and Hamilton shined late in the game as he scored a season high 13 points, before fouling out. Steffon Mitchell played tough as always, and recorded a double-double in the process with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Friars took control of the game early and held a lead for most of the first half. As the teams went back and forwarth the lead grew to as much as 11 at its highest. However, Boston College took the lead back with around 4 minutes in the half, thanks to freshman Chris Herren Jr. He knocked down 3 three pointers in short succession to fuel a BC rally that resulted in a run where BC out-scored the Friars 15-2. Despite being down for most of the half, BC went into the locker room up 43-39.
The second half remained close for all 20 minutes. The teams continued their torrid scoring, as the score kept running higher and higher, and the lead kept changing. Late in the game it was freshman Jairus Hamilton who made a couple of important plays for the Eagles, scoring on a couple of big dunks. Unfortunately, Hamilton fouled out with about a minute left in the half, taking a scoring weapon away from BC at a crucial time. Up 1 with just 11 seconds left, Boston College got what appeared to be the game sealing play- a huge block by Steffon Mitchell and an offensive rebound by Jordan Chatman. Chatman was fouled and sent to the line where he hit both his free throws to increase the BC lead to 3. Boston College then chose not to foul Providence- to send them to the free throw line where they wouldn’t have the chance of getting three points- and this would prove to be a fatal mistake, as star freshman AJ Reeves (who finished with 24 points) drilled a three with 2 seconds remaining sending the game to overtime.
In overtime Boston College struggled to find good offensive looks. Three fouls on Luka Kraljevic also didn’t help as Providence took advantage and converted on their free throws when they needed them most to seal the game. Although it was a tough loss for the Eagles, the three freshman- Tabbs, Hamilton, and Herren Jr- all showed major poise and potential as they seemed to score at ease at times. As they continue to develop we can only expect greater things to come from this team, especially given this was game in which our star, Ky Bowman clearly wasn’t his best.
Up next the Eagles(6-2) travel down to College Station on Saturday to play Texas A&M in what will be another difficult test. Although only 3-4, texas A&M was a Sweet Sixteen team last year, and playing in their gym will be possibly the biggest non-conference test of the season for BC.