Boston College 66, UC Riverside 62 (OT): A Win Is A Win

The young Boston College Eagles had to fight for this one, and it appeared they were going to win it in regulation, up 6 with a minute left, however the Eagles squandered the lead and somehow allowed Riverside to hit 2 threes to tie it up. However, the Eagles persevered in OT, and came out with a 4 point win.

Patrick Heckmann had his best game of the season, scoring 32 points. He wasn't perfect though, as he had 6 turnovers. While Matt Humphrey did chip in 11 points, had a big 3, and went 6-6 from the line (I'll get to that in a moment) he still was 2-10 from the field and made a lot of mental mistakes. Ryan Anderson only had 2 points. There were a few bright spots besdies Heckmann, as KC Caudill had 6 points, Dennis Clifford had 8, and John Cahill probably made the biggest shot of the day for BC.

It wasn't all roses for the Eagles, of course, and they came out and trailed by 2 after B.J. Shearry made a layup with 8:09 to go in the first half. Things got worse for the Eagles, as they trailed by 6 at 24-18 after Phil Martin made a layup. The Eagles ended up trailing UC Riverside 26-23 at the half. During that span, the Eagles would not have the lead for 10:05, until finally Patrick Heckmann made a jumper at the 18:04 mark in the second half that gave BC a 29-28 lead. Then Heckmann made a 3 to give BC a 4 point lead, and it looked like the Eagles would pull away. They didn't and UC Riverside got a lead back and with 10:18 left in the second half, UC Riverside had a 7 point lead. Then the Eagles went on a 20-7 run and it seemed like they were in command with only 55 second to go up 6. It didn't turn out that way. Kareem Nitoto 3 pointer. Matt Humphrey turnover. Harrison Gaines 3 pointer. And just like that, the Highlanders had tied it up. BC got a chance at the end, but a putback by Matt Humphrey that went in was waved off because it was after the buzzer. Then in overtime, Dennis Clifford hit a layup and GABE MOTON OF ALL PEOPLE hits a driving floater to give BC a 4 point lead. They would hold this lead, but almost blew it again up 2, but Phil Martin of UC Riverside, who had a great game, turned it over.

A few thoughts:

-- Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes.
-- The flagrant foul on UC Riverside was quesitonable. I guess the refs thought the center for UC Riverside was trying to trip Clifford from frustration.
-- Heckmann is a boss.

Overall, BC can't play this way against a very good New Mexico team or a rebuilding-but-still-decent Washington State team. Update soon to come on tomorrow's game (opponent, TV station, Time, etc.)

Go Eagles!