Hij Is Terug - Post's Breakout Game Leads to Sweep of Irish

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- For four months, Quinten Post sat and patiently waited for his moment. He wore team-issued sweatpants and walked with a large boot attached to his lower leg. He drew attention mostly as he stood on the outside of a team huddle, though the cameras occasionally panned to him whenever a broadcast needed to use a particular storyline. He was a topic of conversation, but the analysts on television only spoke about him as the missing link to a team that had adapted to playing without a true center or big man in the middle.

When he returned and started playing, the questions about his performance persisted and swirled around Boston College's results. Nobody knew what to expect from his second season in an Eagles' uniform, and after a handful of games, how Earl Grant and his coaching staff managed the 7-footer's minutes and further integration into the team's overall system stepped to the forefront of the ACC water cooler. He was good, but a statement game felt necessary to loudly announce both his and BC's return to emerging form within the league's overall structure.

On Saturday afternoon, the 7-footer from Amsterdam did more than just announce his return. He thundered to the forefront of a resurgent BC game and led the way with a 29-point, 14-rebound double-double that pushed the Eagles past Notre Dame for its first season sweep in the Holy War on Hardwood since the 1996-97 team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

"Obviously, I've had some struggles after sitting out the first 13 games," Post said in the aftermath of the win, "but I kind of felt like this was a breakthrough for me. I feel like I had been playing decently, but it hadn't led to winning basketball, yet. To play like that and win the game especially felt so rewarding. It feels almost like the struggles this season, makes it kind of worth it."

Post scored 12 points in the game's final six minutes during a run that saw the Eagles hold off the Fighting Irish's frisky second half rush. They had earlier carved into BC's double-digit lead with an 8-0 run, and consecutive 3-pointers from the Irish turned a five-point deficit into a one-point lead before the team's traded advantages over the next two minutes. But after Prince Aligbe splashed a three with 7:13 left, Post scored seven consecutive points and capped the 84-72 final with two free throws in the game's final minute.

"It kind of happened organically," Post said. "I started making some shots, which felt really good, and later in the second half, against the zone [from Notre Dame's defense], we were looking for me in cracks [in the formation]. It wasn't really in the game plan beforehand, but it was just what was working at that point, so we went with it."

"He was terrific," said Grant in his postgame remarks. "Anytime you miss substantial time, you pull for a guy to get back going. He's missed a lot of games, and that's hard. It's very humbling to sit there and watch your team and not be able to help, so this is nice to see him come back and find his rhythm. We were trying to limit his minutes over the last few weeks and keep him under 25 minutes. Tonight, he played 30, and he was just really playing good basketball inside and out. We needed him to play that way for us to be successful."

Sharing the spotlight on the day was Makai Ashton-Langford, finished with 20 points, seven assists, two rebounds, a block, a steal and only one turnover in 35 minutes of game time. His 3-pointer with three minutes left in the first half pushed him over 1,000 career points. The grad student connected on 4-for-8 from outside, second only to Post's 4-for-5, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line during a game where BC shot 58 percent from outside and 88 percent from the free throw line.

"My father had told me that I was 14 points away," Ashton-Langford said, "and I totally forgot about it with this game. I think that kind of helped me mentally, for sure, because I just forgot about it and just played. But it's a big accomplishment. I'm definitely happy about it, but we have more season left."

By beating Notre Dame, the Eagles captured a season sweep over a conference rival for the first time since 2019-20 and defeated the Fighting Irish twice in a season for the first time since both were members of the Big East. It was the first game since Irish head coach Mike Brey announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, and though it was BC's fourth win in the last five head-to-head meetings, it was the first win at the Joyce Center since a 72-71 win on December 7, 2019.

"It means a lot to us," Ashton-Langford said. "Notre Dame is definitely our rival in the ACC, and that's a good thing for us. I don't think anybody on the team knew about the streak."

BC is back in action on Wednesday when it hosts Louisville at Conte Forum for a late night, 9 p.m. tip-off. Tickets are available by clicking here, by visiting the Boston College Athletics box office, or by calling (617) 552-GOBC.

Hij Is Terug - Post's Breakout Game Leads to Sweep of Irish

Players Mentioned

Prince Aligbe

Makai Ashton-Langford

Quinten Post

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