RECAP: Boston College Basketball Survives Scare, Downs Fordham 64-55

BROOKLYN, N.Y.- After a first half of the season filled with struggles for redshirt freshman Idy Diallo, Jim Christian had high praise for the forward.

"I thought this was the best game that he's played since he's been here," the second year coach said.

Diallo's surge, alongside a 19 point effort by Jerome Robinson, powered the Boston College Eagles past the Fordham Rams, besting the local squad 64-55 in front of a split crowd at the Barclays Center.

The Eagles' third straight win brought the resurgent Eagles back up to a .500 winning percentage following a six game slide marred with difficult losses and illness.

"We got better today," Christian said. "I'm not worried about records. We got nine players. We have endured a lot. We're starting to play well, we're starting to play with more confidence. I know we keep saying this, but we can only go forward. The last three games we played were good, and we have to now find some consistency."

The scoring started out slow for both teams early in the first half. After Antwoine Anderson nailed a three pointer a quarter of the way through the first half to give the Rams the 7-6 lead, BC went on a 12-3 run to gain the lead late in the first. With the surge, it appeared that the Eagles had momentum in the game.

Then the fickleness of fate and momentum turned against BC.

Granted, when Eli Carter committed a turnover on a BC offensive outbreak around the three-quarter mark of the first half, making an errant pass that was intercepted, the turnover seemed innocent. However, following a Jon Severe three pointer, the Rams seized the momentum and went on a 7-1 run to bring the Rams back into the game.

Like a measuring tape with a broken lock, the Eagles had trouble stopping the Rams, who had snatched the momentum away.

To be fair, the Eagles held off the oncoming Rams onslaught through the beginning of the second half. Yet, on a Joseph Chartouny three pointer, the Rams had snatched the lead back from the Eagles with 10:53 left in the second half.

What was once an eight point lead had been diminished.

The two teams battled for the next minutes before Sammy Barnes-Thompkins drained a three pointer from the corner to give the Eagles the 42-40 lead. From that point, the Eagles would not relinquish the lead again, outscoring the Rams 25-15 down the stretch.

"I was proud of our team, because [Fordham] made some runs at us, which we knew they were going to do, and we responded, and made some really smart plays," Christian said.

The Eagles were able to hold Fordham, a typically high-octane offensive team, to a season low 55 points Tuesday night.

Following the break for Christmas, the Eagles play the University of New Hampshire on Dec. 30 before beginning ACC play against the Duke Blue Devils on Jan. 2.