Miami sank five 3-pointers in the first 9:49 of its home matchup against Boston College men’s basketball on Wednesday. After a shooting flurry to start the game, it appeared as though the Eagles might suffer the same fate they did in their 90–65 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday—a game in which the Eagles gave up 16 threes.
But BC (16–14, 7–12 Atlantic Coast) held the Hurricanes (15–15, 6–13) to just one more 3-pointer in the remaining minutes of play, and the Eagles came away with a 67–57 win—their first victory in Miami since 2010.
“We knew our defense would have to travel in order for us to have a chance,” BC head coach Earl Grant said. “We played team defense today, and it was good to see.”
Although the Eagles’ defense positively differed from their last game, one thing stayed the same—Quinten Post’s dominance.
“I’m realizing this is my last few games in college, and I’m trying to not take it for granted,” Post said. “Trying to play my heart out.”
The center put up 19 points, nine rebounds, and three steals in the Eagles’ win.
As the clock expired on the first half, Post launched a three from deep. It fell through the net as the buzzer sounded to make it 32–28—the smallest deficit for BC since the 10:26 mark, when Mason Madsen hit his first three of the game.
After Madsen’s shot, the Eagles went eight minutes without a made field goal.
“They got lift, they got athleticism, they got speed, and they’re always that type of team that can turn you over and force you into some bad decisions,” Grant said of Miami.
The Eagle who finally ended BC’s scoring drought was none other than Post, who picked up a bucket in the paint to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to seven.
“We don’t lay down,” Post said. “We’re here to fight.”
The Eagles came out in the second half riding the momentum of Post’s buzzer beater and immediately went to work, orchestrating a 22–10 scoring run that put BC up 50–42 with 12:13 remaining.
Madsen kicked things off for the Eagles, hitting two threes in the first four minutes of the half. He and Post combined for seven of BC’s 10 made threes on the night.
Aside from the Eagles’ strong offensive half, they also stepped things up on defense in the second frame, holding the Hurricanes to just 25 points on 29 percent shooting.
“We’ve been trying all year to be a good defensive team,” Grant said. “That’s part of our DNA.”
Claudell Harris Jr.— who made only four threes in the Eagles’ previous five matchups—finally found his shot, and at an ideal time for BC.
After starting the game 0–6 from behind the arc, he finally hit a long-range jumper after a missed layup by Madsen to stretch BC’s lead to nine. With 32 seconds remaining, he capped off BC’s scoring with another 3-pointer, solidifying BC’s win.
“Today was a big start for us in terms of trying to propel ourselves into the ACC tournament,” Grant said. “We got one game left—we want to try to prepare the best we can so we can give ourselves the best chance to be successful.”
