Turning Point

This game looked over when BC went on a mini 8-3 run in the 2nd half to go up 20 with under 10 minutes left. The Eagles got a little sloppy after that though on both ends of the floor and that, combined with Clemson ratcheting up its energy, made this a ball game. The Tigers went on a 29-10 run, which included a 3:40 stretch where the Eagles didn't register a single point.

Up with just under a minute left up by one, Ryan Anderson and Joe Rahon ran a pick and roll on the left side of the court. Both Clemson players hedged hard on Rahon, which allowed Anderson to slip into an open space. Rahon found Anderson wide open and Anderson hit a short jumper to put the Eagles back up 3. The Tigers never got closer the rest of the game as Lonnie Jackson went 4-for-4 from the line in the last minute.

"I want those free throws to end the game. I want those pressure shots. My teammates did a good job of finding me," said Jackson.

What Went Right

Clemson couldn't hit anything in the first half going only 6-of-26 (23%) from the floor. BC's defense was decent, but really it was more of a matter of Clemson missing its shots. The poor shooting allowed the Eagles to build up an 11 point lead going into the half.

On the other end of the court, Clemson normally has a pretty stingy defense, and came into the game with the 30th best defensive effective FG% in the entire country, and 3rd in the ACC. The Eagles had no problem running pretty much whatever they wanted against them the entire game, aside from a 3 minute stretch in the end. BC got tons of open looks throughout the game especially from deep, where the Eagles went 11-for-20.

Obviously it was not good that BC lost such a huge 20 point lead. The silver lining was that the team hung on to win, and executed in the last minute of the game. It was impressive considering the Eagles entered the last minute of play having blown a 20 point lead and not having scored since the 5:35 mark. After the game Joe Rahon was asked if the team lost their confidence in the 2nd half.

"No, we've been in so many close games all year. We knew we slipped up mentally a little bit," explained Rahon. "Everyone did a good job of staying poised and keeping their heads about them. Nobody panicked."

What Went Wrong

BC's offensive execution was really poor late in the game. That includes the BC press breaker, which started to remind BC fans of the late game press breaker problems that Al Skinner's teams used to have.
"We did a poor job of handling the pressure," said Steve Donahue. "We didn't make foul shots again. We outplayed them pretty much 95% of the game, and then we talk about those little things and we almost lose the game because of it."

Biggest Surprise

At the half Ryan Anderson and Olivier Hanlan had only two points apiece and one assist between the both of them, but the Eagles held an 11 point lead. It was shocking the scores weren't reversed considering those stats by BC's two best players this season.

Decisive Match-up

Quite frankly BC's energy level compared to Clemson's was the difference maker in this game. Make no mistake about it; Clemson was not ready to play today. Their players were goofing around as they came out of the locker room before tipoff. It's one thing to be loose; it's another thing to be fooling around with your head not in the game.

Three Stars of the Game

1.Joe Rahon- BC's offense was a little sluggish early in the game and it took almost 3 minutes for them to even get on the scoreboard. Rahon broke the ice by driving from the top of the key for a layup and on the next possession he drilled a three. Rahon finished with 26 points on an outstanding 6-of-7 from long range.

2. Ryan Anderson- Anderson didn't have one of his best games of the year (14 points 4 rebounds) but his jumper to put BC up 3 with 55 seconds left was one of the biggest plays of the year.

3. Eddie Odio- For the second straight game Odio filled up the stat sheet with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Odio had one of the plays of the game when he chased down a Clemson guard on a breakaway and stuffed him going up for a dunk.

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