Looking into the stands at Conte Forum, one could tell that everyone was hyped for Super Bowl Sunday as a multitude of fans sat adorned in their favorite Patriot player’s jersey. With everyone slightly distracted by the Big Game, some of that diversion** may have seeped into the Eagles style of play. It was a very lackadaisical performance for the Eagle’s offense in the first half with Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson combining for 19 of the team’s 28 points. BC was forced to play the infamous ‘live by the three die by the three’ game as they could not get anything going inside the paint. While they did end up finishing 6-11 from three in the first half, it was the Eagles defense that was taking the real beating.
Nik Popovich had extreme difficulty shutting down the paint as Tech’s Abdoulaye Gueye was able to have a field day down low. Additionally, Tech’s guards Brandon Alston, Jose Alvarado and Josh Okogie were able to cleanly cut the rim for easy layups. It wasn’t before long where Coach Jim Christian made the right adjustment by subbing out Popovich and giving some more minutes to John Carlos Reyes who ended up being a big catalyst in getting BC back into the game. JC managed to control the board and add in a few buckets of his own cutting Tech’s lead to 36-28 at the end of the first half.
The second half saw a sense of resurgence from the Eagles as they came out of the gates with much more tenacity. Additionally, they were able to do a much better job of sharing the ball and getting more of the team involved offensively. Most notably, Jordan Chatman was able to catch fire from three and deliver some much needed scoring as he hit some clutch 3 pointers to eventually tie the game with around 10 minutes in the game. He finished 5-12 from three and with 19 points which tied him with Robinson in leading all scorers.
Towards the end of regulation, some sloppy turnovers and poor shot selection allowed Georgia Tech to keep the game close and eventually force BC’s second consecutive overtime. With Jerome on the bench having fouled out, it was Ky Bowman who stepped up big for the Eagles hitting his usual acrobatic layups and icing jumpers that left BC faithful with something to smile about. Georgia Tech continued to try to feed the post, but BC’s tough grit continued to show itself as they were able to outscore the Jackets 11-3 and secure their fourth ACC win.
With the win, BC snaps its 3 game skid and looks to keep their momentum going as they travel to South Bend on Tuesday for an 8 PM tip-off against the struggling Notre Dame Fighting Irish.