Eagles send them ’Packing
Robinson key factor
NEW YORK — Jerome Robinson grew up within walking distance of N.C. State’s campus and played pickup games there with Wolfpack players.
Yesterday, the junior guard did everything in his power to bounce his hometown team from the ACC tournament early.
Robinson scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half, including the go-ahead jumper with 17.8 seconds remaining, to lead Boston College to a 91-87 victory against the fifth-seeded Wolfpack at the Barclays Center.
In the process, he helped the 12th-seeded Eagles advance to the tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2013. They will face fourth-seeded Clemson today (2:30 p.m.).
“I think it’s big for me. I think it’s big for this team as well,” Robinson said. “We lost to them early in the year at N.C. State, and just to get them back in the tournament definitely feels good.”
The Eagles lost to the Wolfpack, 82-66, on Feb. 20, a game in which N.C. State made 13 straight shots after going the first six minutes without scoring. This time around, BC never let its op- ponent get into a rhythm while rolling out to a doubledigit lead before halftime.
While Robinson did most of his damage after the break, it was another North Carolina native, Ky Bowman, who got the Eagles off and running early. The sophomore guard scored 12 of his 24 points in the opening 20 minutes and combined with big men Nik Popovic and Johncar- los Reyes to build a 45-31 advantage at the break.
Popovic added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting while Reyes made all five of his shots to finish with 10. Another unheralded big man, Steffon Mitchell, also made a major contribution with 15 rebounds.
“Those guys are getting better,” BC coach Jim Christian said of his inside trio. “I think those guys are getting more confident.”
No team ever has come back from a 14-point halftime deficit in the ACC tournament, but N.C. State (21-11) nearly did. Despite Robinson’s best efforts, the fifth-seeded Wolfpack used an aggressive fullcourt press and seven 3-pointers to get back into contention.
“I knew they would come back,” Christian said. “They’re a good basketball team that’s going to the NCAA tournament.
“When they made a run at us, we’ve been in that situation now the last couple of weeks, and this is growth. It was growth attacking pressure. It was growth making free throws. It was growth with poise on defense. They made some big-time shots, and we responded.”
The Eagles (19-14) withstood a late Georgia Tech charge to win their firstround game Tuesday but had to work even harder to hold off the Wolfpack.
Five times during the final 4:18, N.C. State tied the game only to have BC answer and regain the lead. The final time came with 40.7 seconds remaining, when Robinson, after running the shot clock down to six, dribbled around a screen on the left wing and pulled up for a 12-foot jumper and an 87-85 lead.
“I saw (Wolfpack big man Omer Yurtseven) trying to cut me off and probably take a charge, so I just pulled up for a mid-range,” Robinson said. “I can shoot the mid-range, so I was just getting to my comfort spot.”
There still were 17.8 seconds left after Robinson’s go-ahead basket, leaving N.C. State a chance either send the game into overtime or win it. But the Wolfpack never got a shot off thanks to Robinson, who deflected an inbound pass to Bowman for a decisive turnover.
Bowman converted the steal into two free throws, then two more after N.C. State’s Markell Johnson called a timeout he didn’t have, to seal the victory.
“The steal Jerome had was the biggest play,” Bowman said. “Just for us getting there and knowing that we had to have a smart play. And that was a smart play.”