CHESTNUT HILL – The Minutemen were counting. It is a shame the baseline official wasn’t.
Down 26 points at halftime, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team fought its way back to within two points of Boston College with two seconds remaining, thanks in part to an amazing trio of 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds from Anthony Anderson.
And on the final inbound, it looked like the Minutemen had locked up the Eagles on their five second allotment, and had been given a chance to complete one of the greatest comebacks this state has ever seen.
But that is a tough call to make, especially in front of 8,526 at Boston College’s Conte Forum, where the No. 13 Eagles held off UMass, 80-78 Saturday night, to capture their second consecutive Commonwealth Cup.
“We were playing good in the first half, but our shots just weren’t falling, and in the second half, we just went out there and played [defense] and we went on that big run,” said Boston native Raheim Lamb, shaking his head.
“Man, I still think that was a five second count too, at the end.”
Boston College (7-0) cruised to a 44-21 halftime advantage, and led 49-23 with just over 18 minutes remaining, but UMass (4-2) engineered a 30-8 run to cut the Eagles’ lead down to 57-53 with 7:31 left. BC responded with a mini-run of its own, capped by an Andrew Bryant 3-pointer to take a 70-58 lead at the 3:23 mark, but the Minutemen made a final surge and found themselves down only 78-75 with 10 seconds left after Anderson’s second of three late treys.
On the ensuing inbound though, confusion in the UMass press defense allowed Bryant to break out into the open court and throw down the winning hoop for BC. After Anderson’s last long-ranger, the Eagles just ran out the clock.
“We almost made something crazy happen,” said Head Coach Steve Lappas, whose team hosts UConn Tuesday and will look to break its two-game losing streak. “Especially against a team this good.”
Troy Bell led Boston College with a career-high 34 points, a bucket better than his 32 points last year in his team’s loss to Southern California in the NCAA East Regional. The junior shot 8-for-14 from the field (3-for-7 from 3-point range) and connected on 15 of 16 free throws. He netted 18 of his points in the first half and scored 14 of BC’s final 31, including a huge 13-foot jumper with 4:24 left to play to give BC the 65-54 lead and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
“Am I supposed to yell at these guys for him pulling from 30 feet, making 30-foot leaners from the ‘C’ in BC?” asked Lappas. “He’s a tremendous player. When you have one of the best players in the country on your team, it’s a tremendous advantage. That kid is the Player of the Year in the Big East, First Team All-American. I’ve had a couple of them. It makes a difference, believe me.”
Ryan Sidney, who came in leading the Eagles at a 21.3 clip, managed only 10 points but added 10 boards. The sophomore played despite fracturing his jaw in practice Thursday.
Anderson led UMass with a career-high 19 points, dishing out three assists and grabbing four steals in the effort. Shannon Crooks tallied 18, Lamb and Micah Brand added 12 each and Eric Williams contributed with 10. All of Lamb’s points came in the second half, leading to his career-night.
In fact, most of the Minutemen’s points came in the second half, as they outscored BC 57-36 in that stanza. In the first half, UMass shot 25 percent (8-for-32) from the floor while going 1-for-10 from behind the arc and 4-for-11 from the charity stripe. But in Act II, the Minutemen shot 59.5 percent (22-37) from the field, while going 6-for-11 from 3-point range and 7-for-10 from the line. The 57 second-half mark is the highest BC has allowed in a half since Duke tallied 55 on Jan. 16.
“If we play hard for both halves – just come out with the aggression and the pressure that we did in the second half – who knows what can happen. It’s just something to learn on,” said Kitwana Rhymer, who scored seven points in a season-low 17 minutes. The fifth-year senior saw limited action due to a twisted left knee and a gash over his right eye that ordered five stitches in the first half.
“There’s a lot of what if’s. Like, what if we got that five-second call? What if we played the way in the first half that we played in the second half? We probably would have won that game.”
