Furious Second Half Finish Falls Short vs. #25/25 Clemson

Wednesday, January 3

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

7:00 PM

Boston College

1-210-5; ACC

Clemson

2-013-1; ACC

Clemson

Boston College

Photo by: John Quackenbos

Furious Second Half Finish Falls Short vs. #25/25 Clemson

January 03, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

Jerome Robinson scores 26 of game-high 28 over final 20:00 of play

By: Athletic Communications

How It Happened:
Boston College erased a 19-point first half deficit and tied the ballgame at 68-68 with 1:02 remaining, but dropped its first home game of the season on Wednesday night, falling 74-70 to #25/25 Clemson.

The Eagles rode the hot hand of Jerome Robinson in the second half as the junior guard poured in 26 points over the final 20 minutes of play. BC trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half before hitting eight consecutive field goals over the next 10 possessions, kickstarting a 19-7 push over the span of 6:21.`

With Clemson leading by nine - 64-55 with 6:10 to play - Boston College used a 13-4 run to tie the game, after two Ky Bowman free throws made it 68-68. After two more Tigers FT made it 70-68, a Robinson 3-point attempt rattled in-and-out and Clemson made two more foul shots to go back up four. Nik Popovic's tip-in with 14 seconds left again cut it to two, but BC got no closer.

After Nik Popovic scored the first bucket of the game, Clemson began a 15-5 run over the next 4:50, to take a 15-7 lead less than seven minutes into play. The Tigers extended its advantage to as many as 19 points (33-14) as the Eagles went scoreless for 5:19. A Ky Bowman 3-pointer with 1:23 to play in the half cut it to 12 (35-23) but Clemson would counter with a 3-pointer of their own and led 38-23 at the break.

Inside the Box Score

Jerome Robinson led all scorers with 28 points - 26 coming in the second half. It is the seventh time this season - and 25th career game - in which he has scored 20 or more points. He added three rebounds, four assists and a steal in 40 minutes of play.
Ky Bowman finished with 19 points, nine assists, and a team-high six assists. All nine of his boards came on the defensive end.
Nik Popovic added 12 points (6-11 FG) and six rebounds in 15 minutes.
Steffon Mitchell tied Bowman with a team-high nine boards to go along with four blocked shots. The four blocks are a career-high and the most by a Boston College player this season. He added five points, two assists and a steal in 38 minutes.
Luka Kraljevic saw 15 minutes of action off the bench, connecting on both of his field goal attempts - good for four points. He added an assist, a blocked shot, and a steal.
Johncarlos Reyes added two points and a steal in 13 minutes of play.
For the first time since Feb. 14, 2017 at Notre Dame, Jordan Chatman was held scoreless (0-2 FG). The junior guard grabbed two boards and dished out two assists.
For the game, BC connected on 49.1% (28-57) from the floor - including 56.3% (18-32) in the second half.
The Eagles were 9-of-21 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Conversely, Clemson connected on 18-of-20 attempts from the free throw line.

Notables

There were two ties and one lead change in the game.
It marked the fifth time this season that BC erased a double-digit deficit and the third time that the Eagles worked back from trailing by 10 or more in the second half.
BC's margin of defeat in two ACC losses is three points.
Clemson was the third nationally ranked team that BC has faced in as many games in ACC play. Five of the Eagles' first six conference foes are against teams ranked in the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches Polls.

Stat of the Game
9 - It was Steffon Mitchell's sixth game with at least nine rebounds. It was Ky Bowman's fifth.

Up Next

Boston College will host Wake Forest on Jan. 6 at Conte Forum. The Eagles and Demon Deacons will tipoff at 4 p.m.
The game will air live on ACC Network Extra and will be cleared through regional sports networks (RSN) nationally.
Locally, the game will air live on NESN. Tom Werme and Jason Capel will have the broadcast call.
It can also be heard live on the Boston College IMG Sports Network with Jon Meterparel and Danya Abrams.