Boston College 66, Georgia Tech 65: Olivier Hanlan's "Clutch" Jumper Lifts Eagles Over Yellow Jackets

Not going to lie. When Georgia Tech's Demarco Cox made a layup and converted the and-one free throw to put the Jackets up 54-51 with 8:39 to play, I thought BC was gonna let this one slip away. But Boston College's Olivier Hanlan lived up to his All-ACC First Team billing, scoring the go-ahead bucket with 10.9 seconds to play. On the final possession of the game, Georgia Tech's Corey Heyward drove the lane but his layup attempt was too strong. The ball was batted away and went out of bounds as time expired as BC held on for the 66-65 victory in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Boston College (13-18, 4-14 ACC) has now won four straight (feels good to say that, right?) and advances to Wednesday's quarterfinal to face 5th seeded North Carolina.

For Georgia Tech, a season filled of near-misses mercifully comes to an end. The Yellow Jackets finish the year with an almost comical 0-11 record in games that went to overtime or were decided by 5 points or less in regulation, 0-13 in games decided by 7 points or less, including four 1-point losses.

It took him a while to really get going, but Olivier Hanlan was once again sensational. The junior finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal to pace the Eagles. I'm sure Georgia Tech will not miss going up against Hanlan. In seven games over three years vs. Georgia Tech, Hanlan has scored a total of 161 points (25, 25, 19, 21, 16, 14 and 41!) for an average of 23 points per game.

The Eagles were able to weather a miserable day on the glass, getting out-rebounded 43-26 overall, including a 19-5 edge on the offensive glass. BC had no answer for Georgia Tech's bigs, as the trio of Charles Mitchell, Demarco Cox, and Robert Sampson finished with 35 of the Jackets' 65 total points.

Three Eagles finished in double figures. Hanlan led the way with 25, while Patrick Heckmann added 19 (12 of those in the first half) and Dimitri Batten 10. BC was also able to survive and advance despite an off day from the team's second leading scorer, Aaron Brown. Brown finished with just one made bucket, a 3-pointer in the games opening minute, and would finished the game 0-for-7 (0-for-4 from three) and 0-for-4 from the foul line.

Next up for the Eagles: a matchup with 5th-seeded North Carolina on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Tar Heels won the only meeting between the two schools this year, 79-68, back on February 7.

Leave your thoughts on the game below. Go Eagles!