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It took 5 extra minutes of action, but Boston College ended two losing streaks tonight. The Eagles had lost 3 straight heading into the Harvard game and had lost their last 6 to Harvard. Fortunately, both of those streaks came to an end tonight.
Aaron Brown had a good first half and helped the Eagles get off to a fast start which resulted in as much as a 15 point lead. On the way to that 15 point lead BC made 3 consecutive 3-pointers. Things were looking good at that point for the Eagles but Boston College failed to hit another 3 the entire rest of regulation. Patrick Heckmann finally knocked down a 3 with 45 seconds left in OT, finishing 4 of 17 from beyond the arc.
Aaron Brown finished with 12 points which is his lowest scoring output in a BC victory this season. When Brown scores 12 or more the Eagles are now 8-2. Olivier Hanlan lead the Eagles with 17 points, Dennis Clifford had 13, and Patrick Heckmann added 12, including the big 3 in OT.
BC struggled from the free throw line again tonight, shooting 6 of 15. The Eagles need to shoot better from the line if they want to win close games in the ACC. In any league, you need to shoot at least 50% from the line to have a chance at winning and in the ACC it will probably take 70-80% from the Eagles to notch victories.
With 2:26 left in the game, Harvard took a 47-45 lead. Aaron Brown then got a layup with 18 seconds left to send it to OT at 47-47.
In overtime, Dmitri Batten scored first for the Eagles and Clifford, Hanlan and Heckmann all helped out with some scoring for the Eagles to control the extra time and get the victory. At 56-52, BC was called for a ten second violation which allowed Harvard to cut the lead to 2 but that was as close as Harvard got in OT.
You certainly cannot say that this team doesn't play defense as you could with the team last year, since BC only gave up 47 points in regulation, but points sure are tough to come by, especially from the free throw line against Harvard. In order to have a chance Saturday against UVA, the Eagles will have to shoot better all around. The Eagles face UVA at home where they have gone to OT in their last two games. If the Eagles take UVA to OT it will certainly be a moral victory, but getting their first ACC win by knocking off undefeated UVA would be a lot sweeter.