Boston College Basketball 2019-20 Season Recap: Part 3 - The End
Earlier this week, Boston College Men's Basketball ended their season with a thud, dropping their second round game to Notre Dame 80-58. With the season now in the books, let's roll back to the beginning of the season and journey from the beginning of the year to the end. Throughout this week we have been recapping the Boston College season, both the beginning and middle of the season. Today we wrap up the series, with the conclusion of the '19-20 season
The End
Coming off a tough stretch where the Eagles had dropped five out of six games, BC had a massive game against the Hokies down in Blacksburg. Just when you thought the Eagles were ready to fold, they stormed back and took out the Hokies 61-56 in Conte Forum. Jairus Hamilton had his biggest moment in maroon and gold scoring 23 points, and getting BC back in to the win column.
BC then hosted Louisville, which was uneventful as the Cardinals cruised by the Eagles and won easily 86-69. The Eagles turned it around again defeating UNC. This was a huge game, as the Tar Heels got pre-season All American Cole Anthony back for his first game in almost two months. However Jared Hamilton hit two of three free throws with 17 seconds remaining to clinch the win for the Eagles. For a team that was destined to be in the bottom of the ACC, BC now was solidly in the middle .
The energy continued as BC got their rematch with Duke at Conte Forum. BC looked like a completely different team, playing crushing defense and holding the Blue Devils to just 21 first half points. However the Eagles couldn't hold on to the lead, and faded down the stretch as Duke's depth took over the game. Tre Jones out dueled former Duke guard Derryck Thornton in the win.
The Eagles continued to play solid basketball as they went down to Blacksburg and defeated the Hokies for a second time, this time in over time. This game was not without it's drama though as Nik Popovic was removed from the BC bench. Steffon Mitchell had easily his best game of the season with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Miami was next up on the docket, and it was not pretty for the Eagles as they fell 85-58 in an ugly blowout. BC again struggled from three shooting 21%, and Jay Heath and Derryck Thornton had a miserable game from the field, shooting a combined 6-28. However Thornton and Heath both bounced back with 22 points and 16 points respectively in BC's win against NC State, their final win of the season.
After that win, everything went down hill for Boston College. Injuries began to dominate the roster, as Nik Popovic, Jairus Hamilton and Jared Hamilton all missed time during this stretch. During this final stretch of seven games, there was only one that was close, and that was when TJ Gibbs hit a buzzer beater to give Notre Dame the win. These were tough games to watch as BC's offense would sputter for long stretches. Their lack of depth was also clearly on display as teams wore them out as games went on. The regular season ended with Florida State routing BC to win the ACC regular season title.
Even with this long skid, BC was able to avoid the first round ACC game, only because GT was ruled ineligible. In their final game of the season, the Eagles were pounded by Notre Dame 80-58, without senior Nik Popovic. With that loss BC finished the year 13-20.
