Final: BC 65, Maryland 81

Another tough ACC game on the road last night, as BC dropped another one in College Park.  This was yet another one of those games where the Eagles came out and played 35 minutes of solid basketball.  Unlike most nights that this is the case, the 5 minutes that killed us did not come at the end of the game.  Instead, they came in the first half in a stretch which saw Maryland go on a 25-2 run that included 7 three pointers.  Given, Maryland was on fire from behind the arc, but the young BC team did not do itself any favors by committing several turnovers, missing a few point blank shots, and failing to establish themselves on the board throughout that run.  Take away those 5 minutes or so, and BC played a pretty competitive game the rest of the way.

Looking at the point differential, you can see BC was absolutely killed in a 5-minute first half stretch, but the rest of the way they were competitive.

What I didn’t like:

• Dennis Clifford missing two dunks, and a few other gimmes. Not only did that lack of execution hurt the team, but it seemed to really take a shot at Clifford’s confidence as he appeared hesitant for much of the second half.
• The perimeter defense, especially in the first half, was certainly lacking. When a team is shooting the way the Twerps were yesterday, you have to get out on them.

The Silva Lining:

• Ryan Anderson kept up his recent string of strong performances with a career-high 22 pts and 10 boards.  He’s really starting to look more and more comfortable out there and showing flashes of his game that helped him become Mr. Basketball in California last year.  He’s showing much more confidence in his low-post game, and finishing near the rim.  He’s starting to play much bigger and with more purpose than earlier in the year when he looked a bit soft.

Anderson has been going to his post game more often.

• Every week, I love the intensity that Lonnie Jackson brings to this team, and it continued last night.  Once again, when the ball was on the floor, Jackson was in the mix. He also did an excellent job of letting that intensity help- but not hurt- the team by declining to retaliate to an elbow thrown by Nick Faust, drawing a two shots (which he drained both of) and the ball. That kind of attitude can be contagious for a team that sometimes seems to lack energy.
• The half court pressure brought on in the second half, especially with Odio’s length and quickness up top forced a lot of long passes and a few turnovers. Steve should install this look more often to facilitate some transition buckets.