Boston College has never had any success at Littlejohn Coliseum, the home of the Clemson Tigers, and that didn’t change on Tuesday night.
Reggie Jackson scored 27 points and collected eight rebounds and Joe Trapani added 22 points and eight rebounds, but Boston College wasn’t able to overcome Clemson, losing 77-69 in a pivotal ACC contest in South Carolina.
BC (15-9, 5-5 ACC) is now 0-5 all-time at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson (17-7, 6-4 ACC) improved to 12-1 in home games this season.
Jackson was 10-for-20 from the floor and 3-for-9 from three-point range while Trapani made 7-of-14 field goals and 3-of-6 shots beyond the arc for BC.
Corey Raji scored eight points and had six rebounds off the bench for the Eagles. Gabe Moton finished with five points and Biko Paris added three points, five rebounds and four assists for Boston College.
BC shot a dismal 38.3% from the floor (23-for-60) and 30% from three-point range (9-for-30). The Eagles had 35 rebounds (15 offensive), 13 assists, four steals, two blocks and 10 turnovers.
Clemson had four players score in double digits. Jerai Grant scored 17 points and had five rebounds to pace the Tigers, who shot 52.9% from the field (27-for-51) and 33.3% from long distance (6—for-18 3PT).
Demontez Stitt, the Tigers’ leading scorer, had 16 points and five rebounds. Andre Young scored 15 points off the bench and Tanner Smith chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds for Clemson.
The Tigers collected 27 rebounds (five offensive), 16 assists, seven steals, six blocks and turned the ball over seven times.
Clemson opened the game with a 10-2 run that spanned four minutes, but Boston College battled back to take a 16-15 lead on a Trapani three-pointer with 9:06 left in the first half. Both teams swapped baskets for the remainder of the opening half, and the Tigers took a 30-27 advantage into halftime.
The Tigers pulled away early in the second half, building their lead to ten, 41-31, with 16:25 remaining and 59-42 with 8:26 left. BC got back into the game with a 14-4 run to cut the lead to 63-56 with 3:56 to go.
The final four minute belonged to the Tigers, who outscored the Eagles 14-13 to secure the victory.
Boston College returns to the court on Saturday when it hosts Maryland on 1 p.m. EST. Clemson faces hosts No. 21 North Carolina on Saturday at 1 p.m.