Colson, Irish better late
Sink Bowman, Eagles
NOTRE DAME 84 BOSTON COLLEGE 76
Boston College failed to execute when possessions mattered most in last night’s 84-76 loss to No. 25 Notre Dame at Conte Forum.
The Eagles (9-18, 2-11) extended their Atlantic Coast Conference losing streak to 10 games while Notre Dame improved to 20-7 and 9-5. Coach Mike Brey now has 13 seasons of 20 or more wins during his 17-year tenure with the Irish.
The Eagles played an inspired first half, leading 49-39 at the break, only to experience a frightful collapse. Notre Dame used a 45-27 edge in the second half to win, contesting every aspect of BC’s game.
“In the second half, we had nine turnovers, and probably eight of them were unforced,” Eagles coach Jim Christian said. “At some point, you have to play the game to win, and we did for most of the game with a lot of key mistakes down the stretch.”
Brey is the latest visiting ACC coach to marvel at the scoring touch of BC freshman point guard Ky Bowman, who netted a game-high 29 points with five 3-pointers, nine rebounds and three assists.
“We had no answers for Bowman, and he is really a gifted young guard, and he is as good as any young guard in this league, and he made some tough ones,” Brey said.
Bowman’s ability to make difficult shots from the perimeter compelled Brey to switch his defense from man to a 2-3 zone, a move that ultimately led to BC’s demise in the second half. Eagles guards Jerome Robinson and A.J. Turner combined for 17 points.
“(Christian) is building this thing with good, young perimeter guys, and the story is we defended better in the second half when we went zone, and that changed their rhythm,” Brey said.
Notre Dame shot 43.5 percent from the floor with 11 3-pointers, 33 rebounds and 14 assists. Irish forward Boznie Colson, a junior from New Bedford, led with 20 points followed by Matt Farrell with 19.
BC went up 55-45 with 16:08 remaining on a Bowman drive through the lane for what proved to be the final feel-good moment of the second half. The Irish countered with a 14-4 run that included consecutive long balls by Ferrell that tied the game 59-59 with 13:10 to play. ND took its first lead, 6159, when Colson dunked with 12:44 remaining.
“Matt Farrell senses when we need it, and he has been that kind of assassin for us all year,” Brey said. “Bonz is Bonz, and they defended him pretty good, but he made some plays and kept it simple.”
The Irish never relinquished a lead that took more than 27 minutes to obtain. Farrell drained his fifth 3-pointer from the corner at 10:35 to give ND a 69-61 advantage.
BC cut the lead to four, 76-72, on a Mo Jeffers jumper from the free throw line with 5:34 to play. Bowman cut the ND lead to 78-76 with two from the line with 58.6 on the clock. The Irish sank six free throws inside the final 25 seconds.
“Bowman was very consistent tonight, and I thought in the second half he should have shot more balls,” Christian said. “He was making the right plays, but when others guys on our team are struggling, he has to be more aggressive.”