Boston College
Northern Iowa
Men's Basketball Loses to Northern Iowa, 81-69
November 23, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2009
Junior Corey Raji scored 18 points and classmate Josh Southern totaled 12 points to lead Boston College in an 81-69 loss to Northern Iowa in the team's third and final game in the Paradise Jam.
Junior Joe Trapani added 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds for the Eagles.
BC led 41-38 at halftime and extended its margin to five points three times in the first four minutes of the second half. BC took a 51-47 lead on a Southern jumper with 15:38 to play, before Northern Iowa ran off 15 straight points to claim a 62-51 advantage with 10:45 remaining.
Raji ended the Panthers' run with a lay-in with 10:39 to play. The Raji hoop started an 8-3 BC run that narrowed the margin to six points - 65-59 - with 7:04 left to play.
After UNI returned the lead to double figures, BC again fought back to within six points - at 71-65 and at 73-67 (with 3:08 left). The Panthers answered the last Eagle rally with a 5-0 run to secure the victory.
Northern Iowa junior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 20 second-half points. He finished the contest with 32 points on 14-for-17 shooting from the floor.
The Panthers scored the game's first seven points and led by as many as 11 points (18-7) in the first half, before BC regrouped and tied the game at 27-27 with 6:09 left before intermission. The Eagles led by three points at the break - in large measure because of a dynamic bench effort from sophomore Evan Ravenel, who scored seven points in the last five minutes of the first half (3-for-3 shooting, 1-for-1 FT).
Game Notes: Northern Iowa shot 64.8 percent from the field - 61.5 percent in the first half and 67.9 percent in the second half ... BC shot 48.0 percent from the floor ... BC committed 13 turnovers, while the Panthers committed five ... BC outrebounded UNI, 31-20 (including 14 offensive rebounds for the Eagles) ... Senior Tyler Roche contributed eight points off the bench.
