The Eagles were able to overcome a slow start to pull away from the Dartmouth Big Green 79-58 on New Year's Eve at Conte Forum. BC started the game 0-6 from the floor and didn't get into the scoring column until more than 4:30 of game clock had gone by.
Credit to the team for overcoming the slow start and pulling away from Dartmouth in the first half. After playing even for more than 10 minutes of the first half, an Olivier Hanlan three pointer broke a 17-17 tie and the Eagles never looked back.
Joe Rahon connected on all six of his 3-point attempts and scored a career-high 24 points to lead the way for the Eagles. In all, the freshman guard finished 7-8 from the floor, 6-6 from three and 4-4 from the line. Olivier Hanlan added 15 and 7, Anderson had 12 and 7, Jackson scored 12 and Heckman added 10 to put all five starters in double figures.
In the second half, the Eagles used runs of 21-6 and 20-7 runs to put the Big Green away for good.
Boston College fans got a scare in the first four minutes of the game when guard Lonnie Jackson stepped on Ryan Anderson's foot and rolled his right ankle. He walked off under his own power and returned to the game to finish with 12 and three rebounds on 4-5 shooting and 3-4 from range.
Largely BC's fortunes rise and fall with the team's ability to hit the three and the Eagles capitalized. As a team, the Eagles shot a blistering 12-for-25 (48.0%) from beyond the arc -- nearly shooting better from three than they did from the floor (27-for-56 for 48.2%). Rahon led the way a perfect 6-for-6. Jackson went 3-4 from range and Heckmann 1-5. Hanlan added another 3-pointer on 1-6 shooting. Hard to believe this team went 0-for-19 from three in regulation against New Hampshire.
Donahue again went with a small lineup, leaving Dennis Clifford to come off the bench. Clifford, who is still nursing an ankle injury, was limited in this one -- finishing with 2 points and 2 boards in 8 minutes of work. Hopefully Clifford's limited minutes help him get back to 100% soon as ACC play starts up on January as they host #23 N.C. State at Conte Forum.
Overall, this was a solid win and one that the team can build on heading into ACC play. I think the smaller lineup has worked well against the weaker teams on the non-conference schedule. It will be interesting to see how Donahue adapts to the stronger, more physical teams coming up in conference play. This team isn't going to shoot 48 percent from downtown every game and it's going to be critical to work the ball down low and get to the rim, instead of relying exclusively on the deep ball.
Player of the game: Joe Rahon. The freshman guard's 24 points are the most by an ACC freshman in a game this season. He was a field goal away from finishing perfect on the afternoon.
Other takes:
BC rolls by Dartmouth (Boston Herald)
Boston College basketball team beats Dartmouth for fifth straight win (Boston.com)
Men's Basketball Wins Fifth Straight; Beats Dartmouth, 79-58 (BCEagles.com)
Basketball builds on win streak (Eagle in Atlanta)
Boston College 79, Dartmouth 58: Eagles End 2012 With Blowout Win (Soaring To Glory)
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