Boston College men’s basketball had its season-opener slip through its fingers in overtime on Monday night.
In a hard-fought 78–83 overtime loss to Florida Atlantic (1–0), it was the Eagles’ (0–1) inability to capitalize at the free-throw line that proved to be their downfall.
Despite showing resilience throughout the game, BC was just 12 of 24 from the line, a significant decrease from their 71.9 percent average from last season. Had they hit that free-throw mark, the Eagles would have been able to seal a victory, or at least forced double overtime.
Returning star Donald Hand Jr. was the leading scorer for BC with 20 points, but made only six of his 13 free throws.
“I live in the gym, and I shoot that shot a thousand times,” Hand said when he was asked whether there is a new hitch in his free-throw form. “I’ll hit those free throws next time out.”
The game started slowly for BC. The Eagles battled early shooting woes and struggled to find their rhythm. Within minutes, BC was only 3 of 16 from the field, as high pressure from FAU gave the Eagles little room for ball movement.
BC saw itself in a 10-point hole with eight minutes to go in the first half and little hope if changes weren’t made.
The Eagles began to find their flow with four minutes left in the first half, however, and went on a six-point run capped by a crucial 3-pointer from Fred Payne to bring the score within one with 2:11 to go in the period. The game stayed close from then on, with the Owls leading 35–31 headed into half.
The second half saw the Eagles’ resilience shine, as they fought their hardest to keep the game competitive. They sustained their offensive rhythm, keeping it to a one-possession game with 12 minutes left, thanks to a free throw by Payne.
Payne finished the game with eight points. He was 2 of 11 from the field.
“It’s hard to play 10 or 11 guys,” BC head coach Earl Grant said. “Most nights you’re going out to play a rotation of eight or nine. Early in the year, we’ll let a cluster of players play it out, then we’ll establish who our top nine is and go from there.”
The momentum had clearly swung in BC’s favor after that, and a crucial euro-step layup from South Dakota transfer Chase Forte tied the game at 47. BC seemed unstoppable for a period, as Marko Radunovic and Boden Kapke each sank 3-pointers to give BC a six-point lead.
With just over five minutes remaining, another 3-pointer by Kapke brought BC’s lead to nine.
“We were kind of spreading the wealth, and so I think the team is really hard to guard when you got three or four guys scoring,” Grant said. “We went from down six to up six. I thought we played very unselfishly.”
BC’s lead was short-lived, however. High pressure from Kanaan Carlyle caused Payne to lose control of the ball with just 50 seconds left. BC was clinging to a five-point lead, and after official review, it was determined that Payne made final contact prior to the ball going out of bounds.
It was FAU’s ball.
Two free throws from Carlyle, then a Yohann Sissoko 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, brought the game to a 66–66 tie, forcing overtime.
The Eagles took the lead first in overtime, and Hand sank a three a moment later, but the Owls fought back to a 78–72 lead.
The suspense did not end there, as threes from Payne and Hand closed the gap to 80–78, with a possibility of forcing double overtime.
In the end, however, a missed 3-pointer from Hand forced BC to foul Sissoko, who made both free throws to make the game 78–83 with just four seconds left. Hand missed one more shot from outside the arc, and the game ended in the Owls’ favor.
“Brand new year, brand new team,” Grant said. “It’s the first game we played this year. Can’t really look in the rearview mirror—I look forward. We’ll get back to Boston and figure out how we can correct some of the mistakes we made.”
