It was far from the strongest showing for either team, but Boston College managed to survive on the wide shoulders of Dennis Clifford. Clifford hit a layup in the lane amongst traffic with 44 seconds to go, to give the Eagles a 58-56 lead and Boston College (6-10, 1-1 ACC) held on for their first Atlantic Coast Conference victory in their conference home opener over Clemson (9-7, 1-1 ACC).
The freshmen center led the Eagles with 15 points and seven rebounds, as Boston College edged the Tigers 59-57 at Conte Forum. Freshmen guard Lonnie Jackson finished with 14 points for the Eagles, who connected on 50 percent (20-of-40) of their shots for the game.
Andre Young led the way for the Tigers with 12 points, while T.J. Sapp added 11 points and three steals. Center Milton Jennings nearly had a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds but he and fellow big man Devin Booker both failed to tie the game with free throws in the final 10 seconds of play.