CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sometimes, you have to wonder how Boston College does it. There’s nothing about this team at first glance that suggests they should be well on their way to the NCAA Tournament. But after last night’s 72-67 win over Florida State, it looks more and more like Al Skinner’s team is on their way to the field of 65.
With this win, Boston College has now knocked off three of the ACC’s best teams, getting wins at North Carolina and at home over Duke and Florida State. The latter two entered Tuesday night at 8-4 in the ACC and in a tie for second place. The Eagles are 8-6, which means they will finish with at least a .500 record, and besides the three aforementioned wins, they have knocked off bubble teams Maryland (road) and Virginia Tech (home). That might well be enough to overcome losses to Harvard and Saint Louis (the latter on the road).
“We had to go out and play like we wanted it,” said head coach Al Skinner. “It didn’t matter who the opponent was, it was just more of a mindset for us. It was just important that we try to win this game.”
What’s more, the Eagles have won without the kind of season many felt Tyrese Rice would have to have for them to exceed expectations. His scoring numbers are just above those of his sophomore season, and while he could be en route to a career high in assists, this doesn’t quite measure up to last year. In short, it’s not the kind of monster season many felt he needed to have for the Eagles to be in this position. But the support cast has clearly been better, and on Tuesday night that was very evident.
Rakim Sanders (16 points, 9 rebounds) has been very hit-or-miss all season, bouncing back from a 2-point outing against Miami with 16 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday. Biko Paris continues to give the Eagles more of a lift off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds, playing with more confidence and being more aggressive each time out. Rice called Paris “the real hero today”.
“Coach Skinner and Coach (Pat) Duquette always tell me to come in and just make a difference, and that’s what I did today,” Paris said.
There was no better support on Tuesday than Joe Trapani. The Vermont transfer continues to play as well within his role as anyone, as in ACC play he’s averaging 14.1 points and 6.4 boards per game. He went for 19 points and 7 boards on Tuesday, with 15 coming in the second half and many of the clutch variety. No one was more important to this win.
“It was just a real fine night for him,” said Skinner.
Trapani first put the Eagles up for good at 29-28 with a layup. After Florida State scored five straight to get within 42-38, Trapani hit a three-pointer to bring the lead back up to seven. When the Seminoles got within 48-47, the Eagles got another basket, then Trapani got a key tip-in and a Rice three-pointer put them up by eight. A couple of minutes later, Florida State got within 57-54, but Trapani hit another three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run. And when Florida State got within 66-65 in the final three minutes, it was Trapani who came through again, hitting two free throws to push the lead back to three.
That all set the stage for the two plays everyone will remember about this game. One was Rice’s clutch three-pointer with 22 seconds left that made it a four-point game. After a Florida State turnover, Trapani had to inbound the ball, and after using the last timeout he made an errant pass. He then scampered over to an area around where he thought Toney Douglas would take the ball, and managed to swat away Douglas’ shot with 12 seconds left. Sanders recovered it and helped ice the game at the foul line.
And with that, the Eagles had once again pulled out a game that made one wonder how they did it. They pulled out another game that puts them closer and closer to an NCAA Tournament bid that seemed unthinkable before the season.
