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January 23, 2013
BC Drops Another Close One
Eric Hoffses
EagleAction.com Turning Point
With 10 minutes left in the game the Eagles were tied with the 'Terps, but a quick run put the game just out of reach for BC. Shaq Cleare made an easy layup to put the home team up 2, and the Eagles responded with Lonnie Jackson launching a tightly contested three early in the shot clock. The 'Terps grabbed the rebound and found Jake Layman wide open down the court for an easy three. This was the start of a 13-6 run for Maryland, and the Eagles never got within three again.
What Went Right
During BC's shooting slump early in the 1st half, Maryland wasn't able to build its lead past 7. A big reason for that was because the Eagles played solid transition defense and didn't leave any players wide open down the court. It helped that Maryland didn't push the ball faster off of rebounds as well, so after many of BC misses the 'Terps actually setup in their half court offense and didn't get a shot off in the fast break.
The Eagles only committed 10 turnovers in the game which helped negate easy buckets for the Maryland offense. The fact that the 'Terps only scored 4 fast break points was a positive sign.
What Went Wrong
To win this game BC needed to have a good day shooting, but that didn't happen. The Eagles shot 32% from long range, which is a little below their season average.
Decisive Matchup
Everyone knew going in that the Eagles were going to get roasted in the paint because of the team's lack of size. The offsetting factor was that Patrick Heckmann was going to get lots of open looks at threes on the offensive end, because Maryland's power forwards were going to play off of him. Maryland outscored BC in the paint 34-12, while Heckmann only shot 2-of-8 from deep, with almost all of his shots being wide open looks.
Biggest Surprise
For as good as Maryland center Alex Len (16 points, 13 rebounds) I thought having Dennis Clifford in the game would slow down Len and the Maryland offense in general. That wasn't the case, as Clifford had a -12 +/- rating, the lowest on the team. On the flip side, the team was +2 with Heckmann on the floor, despite his shooting slump.
Three Stars of the Game
1. Olivier Hanlan- Hanlan filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Hanlan hit several big buckets in the 2nd half when it felt like the wheels were coming off of the wagon for the Eagles.
2. Ryan Anderson- Anderson led the Eagles with 19 points and 7 rebounds. A few of his buckets were over the 7-footer Len, which was impressive to say the least.
3. Lonnie Jackson- Jackson gets the third place nomination by default. Jackson hit a couple of big threes in the 2nd half, but had a really poor game defensively and had trouble getting through some screens.
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