Two weeks ago, when Boston College men’s basketball faced Florida State, BC blew a last-second opportunity to put up a game-winning shot as time expired, leading the Eagles to a 63–62 loss at home.
For the first half of Tuesday night’s game against the Seminoles, it looked like the Eagles would possibly avenge this tight loss and pick up just their second win in Tallahassee in the last 17 years.
But BC (15–11, 6–9 Atlantic Coast) missed its chance, ultimately losing 84–76 to the Seminoles (14–12, 8–7) after a slow second half riddled with turnovers.
“They had long arms, they were deflecting stuff at the rim, and so I think that was the difference of the game,” BC head coach Earl Grant said.
Both teams began the game on fire from the field, as the first 3:55 went by without a missed shot from either side. Mason Madsen picked up two 3-pointers in the first three minutes, seemingly continuing where he left off after his 25-point performance on Saturday.
Devin McGlockton and Jaeden Zackery also showed out to begin the contest. Just under four minutes into the game, Claudell Harris Jr. found McGlockton open in the left corner, where he rose up and hit a three-ball that put the Eagles up 13–10. Two minutes later, Quinten Post hit Zackery for another three near the top of the key.
The Madsen, McGlockton, and Zackery trio combined for the Eagles’ first 19 points, and BC shot 57.7 percent from the field through the first half.
FSU was not without its own first-half offensive moments, though. With 13:38 to go in the opening half, Cam Corhen Euro-stepped through the lane on a fast break and finished without the help of the glass to put the Seminoles up 18–17, drawing a foul against Zackery in the process.
After a close first half that featured a flurry of lead changes and ties, the score was tied 43–43 entering the break.
But while FSU carried its offensive rhythm into the second half, BC couldn’t do the same. The Eagles committed nine turnovers in the final 20 minutes, keeping their offense stagnant.
“Their defense bothered us at certain times to put us in situations where we couldn’t make the right decisions,” Grant said.
With about five minutes left to play, BC found itself down 75–66 after a foul on McGlockton gave FSU’s Baba Miller free throws. Madsen, who ended the game with 14 points, missed a jumper, then committed a foul on the other end. Jalen Warley converted on both of his free throw attempts to give FSU an 11-point advantage.
When asked what went into taking two starters, McGlockton and Madsen, out of the game with about four minutes left to play, Grant pointed to a lack of production on both sides of the court.
“We went down 10, so I was searching,” he said. “We weren’t getting stops and we were turning the ball over.”
In addition to the plethora of turnovers stalling their offensive production, the Eagles also struggled to get stops on defense, especially in the paint.
“They went to the free throw line 29 times,” Grant said. “The only thing you can do is move your feet and get in front of the ball, keep your nose on the ball. We didn’t do that.”
With 10:08 remaining in the game, FSU began a 9–0 run. A turnover from BC led to an alley-oop for the Seminoles on the other end to cap off the run with FSU up 70–61.
“We knew we needed to defend to win this game, and we didn’t defend at the level we needed to defend,” Grant said.
But BC fought back. Zackery grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed dunk by Armani Mighty and kissed it off the glass with 7:22 remaining. Then, a made jumper by Post brought BC’s deficit within five with under seven minutes to go.
But the hole the Eagles had dug was too big for them to redeem themselves from, and the Seminoles handed BC a loss to secure their sweep of the season series.
“I think overall we needed to defend and rebound tougher,” Grant said. “We scored a lot of points. We had plenty of points to win the game.”
