MBB Comes Up Just Short In OT ACC Quarterfinal Loss To UVA

Before BC even took the floor for its ACC quarterfinal game against Virginia on Thursday night, the Eagles somehow had even more to play for.

Minutes before they tipped off with faint NCAA tournament hopes hanging by a thread, BC watched as 10th-seeded NC State stunned second-seeded Duke. That meant if the 11th-seeded Eagles could take down No. 3 UVA, 'The Path' was now, very, very real.

The Eagles gave it everything they had, even getting a Mason Madsen jumper at the buzzer to force overtime. But, in the end, three games in three days caught up to BC and UVA was able to pull away, 66-60.

BC got 23 points and 13 rebounds from Quinten Post in what could be his final game with the Eagles. Claudell Harris added 14 and Madsen finished with nine. BC only attempted four free throws (hitting three) while UVA was a dismal 8-18 at the line. Oddly, BC didn't have a foul called in its favor for the final 12 minutes.

The Eagles also out-rebounded the Hoos by seven (45-38). Both teams were brutal from beyond the arc, with BC going 8-25 and Virginia going 9-29.

BC is now 19-16 and will wait to see if they get a bid to the NIT.

"We came up short, but we played with a lot of energy, a lot of grit, very unselfish," said Earl Grant. "I hope that our season will continue in the postseason."

Harris remained red hot early on, knocking down three three's in the first two minutes to give BC an early 9-2 lead. A Post layup made it 11-4 heading to the first media timeout as BC showed a ton of emotion coming off the floor.

The lead ballooned to 16-6 on a deep Post three and then 18-8 on a McGlockton put-back. BC started turning the ball over and quickly allowed a 7-0 Virginia run that cut it to 18-15 as the clock ticked under 10 minutes before a Madsen jumper quieted the crowd.

BC went back up 22-15 in a Donald Hand jumper, but both teams struggled over the next few possessions offensively until UVA buried a three to cut it to 22-20 with under five to play. A Harris miss and another UVA three gave the Hoos their first lead with 4:06 to go, but Madsen immediately answered with a three of his own.

A three-point-play for McGlockton following one on the other end for UVA made it 30-26 Eagles with 2:20 to go. Zackery buried a three coming off a Post screen to push it to 33-26 a minute later. A Post driving layup and two different stops allowed BC to carry a 35-29 lead into the locker room.

"Going deep into that second half and overtime, you start feeling a lot of wear and tear," Harris acknowledged. "So, those missed shots (later in the game) that come up short are more mental than anything."

It took less than three minutes in the second half for UVA to tie the game at 37-37, but Post answered with a big three. Offense was optional on both ends for the next few minutes as UVA cut it to 44-43.

Zackery picked up his third foul with 10:30 left as the Hoos took a 47-46 lead. It didn't last long as Post buried a three to put the Eagles back up by two. The slugfest continued as the clock ticked under five minutes and BC clung to a 55-53 lead.

With 2:55 left, McGlockton fouled out with UVA in the process of shooting a three. Luckily for the Eagles, the Cavaliers continued to struggle at the line, hitting two of the three to tie the game. Both teams traded a bad possession on each end and Grant called a timeout with 1:37 to go.

Post had a shot rejected on the play out of the timeout, but Madsen answered with a block on the other end before UVA earned two free throws and missed both with a minute left. On BC's ensuing possession, Zackery missed a three and Madsen committed a foul on the rebound, once again giving the Hoos a shot at the line with 29.2 remaining and Jacob Groves hit them both.

When asked about the discrepancy in free throws, Grant didn't hold back.

"18-4 is a big disparity," he said adamantly. "That's a 14-point difference. I thought it was a physical game, I thought there was contact on both sides, both ends. But, we did have a high level crew. I can't question the officials we had in terms of who (the ACC) put in the game. But, I thought we got hit a few more times and should have shot a few more free throws."

Stunningly, Madsen wound up with the ball in his hands in the final seconds and he knocked down a shot at the buzzer to force overtime.

"Every possession was hard," said Grant. "That's a very good defensive team and it was a challenge, They did some good things, taking things away, but our guys didn't panic and Mason was able to...I think JZ found Mason and Mason was able to make a shot. We had great poise, but they did take some things away. It was very challenging trying to score against them."

After an ugly opening possession, BC watched McKneely bury a three to put the Hoos up 60-57. Both teams were cold and the score remained the same until Reece Beekman hit a massive three to push it to 63-57 with 1:45 left. Harris kept things interesting with a three of his own with 57.3 to go, hitting BC's first bucket of the overtime.

A UVA layup with 35 seconds left made it a five point game again. Zackery came up with an offensive rebound on BC's next possession, but turned it over with 14.3 to play. A free throw and a Madsen air ball ended the valiant effort from the Eagles.

Now, BC must play the waiting game through the weekend.

"It's very hard right now. On the one hand, like, we could be done. But, we don't want to be done," said Post. "I feel like we deserve a shot to play in the NIT and I feel like we did enough to put ourselves in that spot. So, right now, we couldn't really say good bye to me and some of the other seniors and that's a weird spot to be in.

"Mixed emotions. I really want to play and the other guys really want to play. I feel like there's some unfinished business for us."