BC gets Spinelli win in debut
What a difference a coaching change and a leaguemandated two-week layoff can do for a basketball team on life support.
Interim coach Scott Spinelli, in his first game in place of Jim Christian, oversaw the Eagles’ 94-90 upset victory over Notre Dame in the home finale on Saturday at Conte Forum.
BC improved to 4-13 overall and 2-9 in the ACC with its first victory since beating Miami on Jan. 12. The Eagles last game was a 75-67 loss at Syracuse on Feb. 12. BC closes out the season at Florida State and Miami. Notre Dame fell to 9-13 and 6-10.
“We had that extra practice time and really kind of focused on playing to our individual strengths that would make us the best team,” said Spinelli. “For our guards to make simple plays and to drive the ball for themselves or their teammates.”
BC shot 52.5% from the floor and outscored the Irish at the charity stripe 23-7. The Eagles committed just five turnovers. Jay Heath and DeMarr Langford Jr. each had 19 points, while Fred Scott added 18 and Makai Ashton-Langford had 16.
Senior Steffon Mitchell had nine points and eight rebounds in his final home game. Irish guard Prentiss Hubb led all scorers with 28 points as ND finished with five players in double-figures.
Scott, a graduate transfer who hadn’t played since Nov. 30 against St. John’s, was a massive contributor off the bench. Scott was sidelined by a combination of a knee injury and the ACC’s COVID-19 protocols.
“He was out for quite a long time and it’s taken him awhile to come back and get in shape,” said Spinelli. “He is extremely skilled, he’s a weapon especially at the five but he’s a scorer at all three levels.”
BC opened the second half strong, building a 53-42 lead on a pair by Heath from the line with 16:38 remaining. Notre Dame made a series of mini-runs but never got closer than six points during an eight-minute stretch of ebb-and-flow basketball. BC went up 68-58 on a baseline layup by Mitchell with 9:01 to play.
The Eagles then increased the lead to 74-62 on two free throws by Langford Jr., but defensive breakdowns in the lane allowed ND to cut the lead to six points on easy layups.
“We were just trying to keep our spirits up and play our hearts out,” said Ashton-Langford.
BC went up 83-73 on a transition layup by Scott with 3:47 remaining. Spinelli called timeout after Cormac Ryan converted a three-point play and Nate Laszewski
scored a put-back to make it 83-78 with 2:20 on the board.
The Eagles’ erratic freethrow shooting allowed ND to cut the lead to 90-88 on a layup by Hubb with 16 seconds to play. Langford Jr. sank four free throws in the final 11.8 seconds to secure the win.
“I was a little nervous but
in practice this week we kind of emphasized free throws,” said Langford Jr. “That was something we struggled with this season.
“I wasn’t too nervous going to the free-throw line and once I got a good feeling for the ball and the good feeling of it going through the net was great.”