CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College did what a good team will do after a loss, particularly a home loss like the one they had on Wednesday. They turned the page and moved on with the next practice and ultimately the next game. Saturday’s 86-75 win over Georgia Tech gets them right back on track and, more importantly, makes them 2-0 in early ACC play.
The Eagles won this game in a similar fashion to how they have won several others this season. They ran a very efficient offense and took good shots, and were good overall despite a couple of sloppy stretches and 14 turnovers. After having small leads and the game staying close for the first half, ending in a tie, the Eagles ran the lead into double digits thanks to their defense. Georgia Tech slowly made their way back, but didn’t have enough to tie although they got within three a couple of times.
“I thought the defensive end in the second half for us was the key, when we started getting some serious stops,” said head coach Steve Donahue. “I thought we did a very good job after, obviously, not a very good job in the first half.”
Donahue said Reggie Jackson, the team’s best player all season, had a couple of very good days of practice after spending time talking to him on Thursday. Whatever the message was, the junior guard certainly got it. He had 25 points on the day, going 8-9 from the field and making all three of his shots from behind the arc. That helped overcome some foul trouble and seven turnovers, which is a little out of character.
Naturally, he would rather not have had the seven turnovers, but Jackson was happy with the game for a simple reason.
“I’m satisfied with the win, so I’m not going to complain too much about it,” said the junior guard.
For his part, Donahue said he had no problem with it, especially since three of the turnovers came on offensive fouls as Jackson tried to make plays. A player takes risks when they get aggressive, and as long as that is how the turnovers happen Donahue won’t be upset with it.
The Eagles were more in character in this game than on Wednesday night. Against Harvard, too often they tried to do too much instead of playing the way they normally do, and it showed in the results. On Saturday, they stayed within themselves and the results were positive. They kept their poise as Georgia Tech slowly cut a 13-point lead all the way down to three, but got no closer, and brought the lead back up to 13 in the final seconds before a meaningless basket provided the final margin.
“I think there’s only one approach for me with things like that,” Donahue said of responding to the loss to Harvard. “One, you’re blatantly honest, we’re disappointed with how we played. But whether it was a great game or bad game, your next practice has to be your best. You can’t have any hangover from it. It’s easy to do that as a coach, to think about all the stuff you let go to not win a basketball game, but it doesn’t help you.”
The Eagles will need to have no such hangover with North Carolina State coming to town on Tuesday night. Much was expected of the Wolfpack before the season since they have a nice group of freshmen to go with their veterans, but the jury is out on them as they had an undistinguished non-conference run that included no NCAA Tournament resume wins. A lot of that has to do with Tracy Smith missing time due to injury. Regardless, the Wolfpack will come to town with something to prove, and they also come to town having won five straight games after blowing out Wake Forest in their ACC opener.
While the Eagles have managed to stave off rallies all season, tempting fate too much may catch up with them. They haven’t been good at putting teams away when they have a chance to, and while there is much to be said for staying poised and holding off a rally by making the plays late, it’s something that might be best if it’s not utilized very often.
“We have to find a way to progress and, once we break away, bury teams,” said Jackson.
Tuesday night might provide one such opportunity, if the Eagles turn the page as effectively as they did after the loss to Harvard.
