Photo by: John Quackenbos
An Emotional Win Hits Home For BC on Senior Day
February 28, 2021 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
The win over Notre Dame rang through the hearts of the Eagles
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The high level overview of the Boston College program didn't look great entering Saturday's game against Notre Dame. The Eagles had been in COVID-19 protocols for the second time this season, and the two postponements stretched a four-game losing streak over a calendar month. It tested BC's patience, but the Eagles' wait churned their desire while the outside world lurched forward.
This past Saturday, they grabbed their opportunity to respond with a resounding statement, and the internal steam finally exploded with a 94-90 win over their rivals on Senior Day at Conte Forum.
"Like a lot of other teams, these players have gone through a lot," interim head coach Scott Spinelli said after the win. "Like we all have in society, it's been real tough for everybody. When they leave this year, obviously the record wasn't what any of us would want, but every time these kids got knocked down, they got back up. It really speaks to their character and who they are as people, and they deserve a lot of credit."
"It's been tough for us," sophomore Jay Heath said. "We were just locked in a room during the protocols, but I mean, we could watch a lot of film. The coaches would send us stuff to do in our room, and it would keep our minds busy. Otherwise, we would go crazy in there. We just tried to stay busy, and when we got back out on the court, we had a lot of energy. We were just excited to play."
It offered a peek into the Hollywood sports movie ending after Notre Dame pushed the score in the second half. The teams combined for 38 made field goals after BC opened a seven-point lead in the first half, and both shot better than 60 percent in the latter 20 minutes. Both the Eagles and Fighting Irish got to the line, but the home side used 18 free throws and four three-pointers to overcome the 55 points scored by the visitors in the second half.
Both Prentiss Hubb and Jay Heath played virtually the entire game for their respective teams, and the two pushed each other to discover facets of their game. Nate Laszewski and Steffon Mitchell battled in the paint for rebounds, and each brought down six on the defensive glass. Juwan Durham and DeMarr Langford scored secondary points and produced overall games.
Frederick Scott was lost to the injured list after the St. John's game earlier this season, but he returned to drop 18 points in 21 minutes. He joined Makai Ashton-Langford as impact players off the bench after BC chose to start two walk-on seniors for the first two minutes, both of which made an impact when Will Jackowitz rebounded the game's opening shot and Sam Holtze hit the opening three-pointer.
"We had about a week and a half to get better, individually and as a team," Spinelli said, "and one of the focal points, for us, was to let the guys know to play to their strengths. I think sometimes that everybody wants to do certain things as a basketball player, but everybody's a member of the team and everybody contributes something for a team's success. We played the right way, inside-out, driving the ball, going inside. That made the 3-point shot easier for us, because we were playing the right way."
It helped BC answer the bell after a tumultuous previous two weeks. The response to the adversity poured the Eagles into basketball and galvanized everyone into focusing on the present tense. Concentrating on that here and now enabled the dramatic victory in the final home game on the Conte Forum court for 2020-21. BC never trailed and took every haymaker from a desperate Notre Dame team. Each possession featured noise, communication and movement, and the intensity ignited the game. Each level produced a higher degree, and it elevated both teams as everyone melded into the game flow.
"It's an amazing feeling knowing that there's competition on the other side of the court and that they're not going to let up, " DeMarr Langford said, "It's all about who has the heart, and you have to fight to the end of the game that we love. We want to go a long way with it, so we're not going to back down from anybody. We lost a lot of close games this season, and this was one game that we lost earlier this season. We knew coming out that we were going to have more heart than them."
"It was fun," Ashton-Langford said. "We obviously don't know when or if we were going to play the next game with COVID, so we try to keep our spirits up as much as we can. We just played with our entire heart into the game because nobody knows if we could have another one."
The game brought out the best in the Eagles, ending with the earning an old-fashioned victory. It didn't fix or change the season's admitted disappointment, but its positive memory offered a glimmer and a silver lining. The players played, the coached coached, and the Boston College Eagles won a basketball game over its former Big East rivals in the latest chapter to the Holy War on hardwood.
"(Coach) Spinelli brings a different type of energy to the game," Ashton-Langford said. "(He) is more of a jumpy guy. He tries to get us going, and that worked out for us."
"As much as it's fun, it's really about the guys on the team," Spinelli said. "You have no idea the emotions that are build up in all of us as coaches on the staff, to watch what these kids have had to go through. It really means more for them, and to watch the smiles on their face when they saw Sam Holtze and Steffon Mitchell, all the times that he's on the floor, he's played to win games. To send them off like that, to me and all the guys on the team, is more enjoyable. They deserve a lot of credit for this, and I think it's really enjoyable for the players."
Boston College returns to the court on Wednesday when it plays at Florida State. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network with radio broadcast available on WEEI 850 AM.
This past Saturday, they grabbed their opportunity to respond with a resounding statement, and the internal steam finally exploded with a 94-90 win over their rivals on Senior Day at Conte Forum.
"Like a lot of other teams, these players have gone through a lot," interim head coach Scott Spinelli said after the win. "Like we all have in society, it's been real tough for everybody. When they leave this year, obviously the record wasn't what any of us would want, but every time these kids got knocked down, they got back up. It really speaks to their character and who they are as people, and they deserve a lot of credit."
"It's been tough for us," sophomore Jay Heath said. "We were just locked in a room during the protocols, but I mean, we could watch a lot of film. The coaches would send us stuff to do in our room, and it would keep our minds busy. Otherwise, we would go crazy in there. We just tried to stay busy, and when we got back out on the court, we had a lot of energy. We were just excited to play."
It offered a peek into the Hollywood sports movie ending after Notre Dame pushed the score in the second half. The teams combined for 38 made field goals after BC opened a seven-point lead in the first half, and both shot better than 60 percent in the latter 20 minutes. Both the Eagles and Fighting Irish got to the line, but the home side used 18 free throws and four three-pointers to overcome the 55 points scored by the visitors in the second half.
Both Prentiss Hubb and Jay Heath played virtually the entire game for their respective teams, and the two pushed each other to discover facets of their game. Nate Laszewski and Steffon Mitchell battled in the paint for rebounds, and each brought down six on the defensive glass. Juwan Durham and DeMarr Langford scored secondary points and produced overall games.
Frederick Scott was lost to the injured list after the St. John's game earlier this season, but he returned to drop 18 points in 21 minutes. He joined Makai Ashton-Langford as impact players off the bench after BC chose to start two walk-on seniors for the first two minutes, both of which made an impact when Will Jackowitz rebounded the game's opening shot and Sam Holtze hit the opening three-pointer.
"We had about a week and a half to get better, individually and as a team," Spinelli said, "and one of the focal points, for us, was to let the guys know to play to their strengths. I think sometimes that everybody wants to do certain things as a basketball player, but everybody's a member of the team and everybody contributes something for a team's success. We played the right way, inside-out, driving the ball, going inside. That made the 3-point shot easier for us, because we were playing the right way."
It helped BC answer the bell after a tumultuous previous two weeks. The response to the adversity poured the Eagles into basketball and galvanized everyone into focusing on the present tense. Concentrating on that here and now enabled the dramatic victory in the final home game on the Conte Forum court for 2020-21. BC never trailed and took every haymaker from a desperate Notre Dame team. Each possession featured noise, communication and movement, and the intensity ignited the game. Each level produced a higher degree, and it elevated both teams as everyone melded into the game flow.
"It's an amazing feeling knowing that there's competition on the other side of the court and that they're not going to let up, " DeMarr Langford said, "It's all about who has the heart, and you have to fight to the end of the game that we love. We want to go a long way with it, so we're not going to back down from anybody. We lost a lot of close games this season, and this was one game that we lost earlier this season. We knew coming out that we were going to have more heart than them."
"It was fun," Ashton-Langford said. "We obviously don't know when or if we were going to play the next game with COVID, so we try to keep our spirits up as much as we can. We just played with our entire heart into the game because nobody knows if we could have another one."
The game brought out the best in the Eagles, ending with the earning an old-fashioned victory. It didn't fix or change the season's admitted disappointment, but its positive memory offered a glimmer and a silver lining. The players played, the coached coached, and the Boston College Eagles won a basketball game over its former Big East rivals in the latest chapter to the Holy War on hardwood.
"(Coach) Spinelli brings a different type of energy to the game," Ashton-Langford said. "(He) is more of a jumpy guy. He tries to get us going, and that worked out for us."
"As much as it's fun, it's really about the guys on the team," Spinelli said. "You have no idea the emotions that are build up in all of us as coaches on the staff, to watch what these kids have had to go through. It really means more for them, and to watch the smiles on their face when they saw Sam Holtze and Steffon Mitchell, all the times that he's on the floor, he's played to win games. To send them off like that, to me and all the guys on the team, is more enjoyable. They deserve a lot of credit for this, and I think it's really enjoyable for the players."
Boston College returns to the court on Wednesday when it plays at Florida State. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network with radio broadcast available on WEEI 850 AM.
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