SB Nation Boston - Boston College 84, Bucknell 80: Eagles Overcome Poor Start, Defeat Bisonhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48863/boston-fave.png2010-12-23T13:17:11-05:00http://boston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16537762010-12-23T13:17:11-05:002010-12-23T13:17:11-05:00Reggie Jackson, Boston College Display Competitive Drive Against Bucknell
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<p>Reggie Jackson and the Boston College men's basketball team found themselves in a big hole early in the first half of their game against Bucknell on Wednesday night. </p>
<p>Trailing 37-21 with 8:21 left in the first half, the Eagles had two choices: pack it in or chip away at the lead. Last year's BC squad, under former coach Al Skinner, probably would have been too discouraged to attempt a comeback. </p>
<p>But that's not the way Jackson and the 2010 Eagles do business. Instead of folding to the pressure, Boston College took a play-by-play approach and chipped away at the Bison lead over the final 28 minutes and ultimately walked away with <a href="http://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/12/22/1889735/bucknell-boston-college-ncaa-basketball-scores">a hard-fought 84-80 win</a>.</p>
<p>While the deficit was discouraging, Jackson made sure to let his teammates know that the game was far from over.</p>
<p>"Honestly, I was just preaching to my guys play-by-play," said Jackson, who scored 15 of his team-high 22 points in the second half. "I never really knew [the lead] was by 16. I was just telling them let's cut it down maybe by four each TV timeout and just go by that and just try to win each four minutes and eventually we'd be in the game, and it paid off."</p>
<p>The comeback victory was the Eagles' seventh in a row and improved Boston College's record to 10-2. The impressive display was just the latest example of the change of culture issued in by new head coach Steve Donahue. In short, this Eagles' team isn't going to be distracted by anything.</p>
<p>"My mindset going into the game, I just knew it was going to be a hard game," Donahue said. "I don't look at stats around the country, but we're probably the two best assist-to-turnover teams in the country. Both teams just really execute."</p>
<p>Wednesday night's game was the first time this season that the Eagles faced a huge deficit right off the bat. The Bison made five of their first seven three-pointers en route to their early lead. Instead of panicking and changing the game plan, Donahue kept his cool and approached the deficit on a long-term basis.</p>
<p>"Every shot went in there for a while," said Donahue. "The only goo thing was that they scored like 35 points in the first ten minutes, so I thought, at least the game is long here. I think if we continually fight through it and go after it, I thought it could be a real rewarding game. I almost look at it as if, you know, embrace this challenge, don't fight the situation. Let's go have some fun, make plays."</p>
<p>Donahue's Eagles did just that, bringing the 16-point deficit down to three by halftime and ultimately erasing the deficit entirely early in the second half.</p>
<p>Even though Donahue kept his cool, he did acknowledge the fact that there is a danger in having his players think that they have to match the opponent's output offensively, instead of shutting them down.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the Eagles did not fall into that trap. Boston College was able to shut down Bucknell's scoring front temporarily, using a 14-0 run to pull itself back into the game late in the first half. In the second half, the Eagles were able to fend off the Bison offensive attack while receiving an outstanding offensive performance from Jackson.</p>
<p>"He's obviously an incredible player," Donahue said about Jackson. "The maturity level tonight I think is great. The kid [Bryan] Cohen is the Patriots League Defensive Player of the Year]. He locked up a couple of our guys over the years in Cornell. Part of you thinks Reggie doesn't understand that this kid can lock him up. He didn't allow that. I saw he got rid of the ball quickly, especially early. He didn't pound the ball. Then, when he took his opportunities, he took ten shots tonight and scored 22 points, six assists, no turnovers. I thought he picked his spots perfectly when we really needed him."</p>
<p>Jackson was an impressive 8-for-10 from the field and made 3-of-4 threes, all of which came at crucial points in the game. His performance was not surprising, as many have come to expects outings like this from Jackson this year.</p>
<p>Through 12 games, Jackson is the Eagles MVP and is one of the leading candidates to win the ACC Player of the Year award. Some of his improvement has come though maturation and hard work ,but a good deal of it has come through Donahue's new system.</p>
<p>No one can argue with Donahue's methods, as he has the Eagles playing fundamentally solid basketball. The Eagles performance against Bucknell was a showcase of the grit and determination that this Boston College team possesses.</p>
<p>And as we saw on Wednesday night, any team that tries to get in their way will likely wind up paying the price.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/12/23/1893729/reggie-jackson-steve-donahue-boston-college-basketball-bucknell-bisonGethin Coolbaugh2010-12-22T21:34:04-05:002010-12-22T21:34:04-05:00Boston College 84, Bucknell 80: Eagles Overcome Poor Start
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<p><b>CHESTNUT HILL</b> - Oh the weather outside was frightful, and unfortunately, so was Boston College's offense early on.</p>
<p>The Eagles missed their first four shots and found themselves down 8-0 against Bucknell nearly three minutes into the game and trailed by as many as 16 in the first half before pulling within three points at the intermission.</p>
<p>But thanks to gritty second-half play, the Eagles overcame their first half mistakes to post an 84-80 victory over Bucknell on Wednesday night at Conte Forum. The win was Boston College's seventh in a row.</p>
<p>"I thought it would be a great game going in," said Boston College head coach Steve Donahue. "They're a terrific offensive basketball team that's really gelling right now."</p>
<p>The Bison made 30-of-61 shots (49.2%) and am impressive 15-of-29 three pointers (51.7%) in the loss. Bryson Johnson led Bucknell with 25 points, Mike Muscala scored 14 points and Bryan Cohen added 13 points.</p>
<p>"It's also a difficult match for our guys because you don't see teams like that," Donahue said. "We play like that, but very rarely do you see teams at this level play like that. I thought Bucknell, great experience, great poise, big play after big play. I'm just proud of our guys that we answered those punches early and just didn't let it die."</p>
<p>Reggie Jackson scored a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Boston College. Joe Trapani and Josh Southern each had 16 points and Biko Paris added 14 points for the Eagles.</p>
<p>After falling behind 8-0, Josh Southern put Boston College (10-2) on the board with 17:12 left in the half. Danny Rubin then hit back-to-back threes to cut the Bison lead to 13-8 with 15:40 remaining, but Bucknell (6-7) maintained its tenacity to build its lead to 37-21 with 8:21 to play.</p>
<p>"I believe we were over helping at times," Jackson said. "Like coach said, they move the ball like us, they kind of play the same style, so we were overreacting. They're a good team, finding each other. Obviously, they had 17 assists with only seven turnovers, so they were moving the ball well. Everybody was hitting."</p>
<p>However, the Eagles responded with a 14-0 run to put themselves back in striking distance, 37-35, with 4:13 left. The Bison were able to hold off the Eagles run for the remainder of the half and took a 42-39 lead into halftime.</p>
<p>"Honestly, I was just preaching to my guys play-by-play," said Jackson. "I never really knew [the lead] was by 16. I was just telling them let's cut it down maybe by four each TV timeout and just go by that and just try to win each four minutes and eventually we'd be in the game, and it paid off."</p>
<p>Boston College made 14-of-29 field goals (48.3%) and 6-of-14 threes (42.9%) while Bucknell connected on 16-of-33 shots (48.5%) and 7-of-14 threes (50%) in the first half. The Eagles had four turnovers while the Bison had two.</p>
<p>The Eagles took their first lead of the game, 43-42, one minute and twenty seconds into the second half. Bucknell responded by hitting three straight shots from the perimeter to take a 51-45 advantage with 16:15 remaining and built the lead to seven, 57-50, at the 13 minute mark.</p>
<p>Yet a three-point play from Jackson and a Jackson three pointer, followed by a free throw from Corey Raji and another Jackson three, put the Eagles back in the drivers seat, 60-59, with 9:59 left.</p>
<p>"I guess it was shots I was getting open," said Jackson, who scored 15 points in the second half. "Coming out of a timeout, Josh grabbed me to the sideline and whispered in my ear 'Reggie, this is the time you have to take over and really look for your shots.' I took those words of advice from him and started getting a few looks with my first three that I took, and it went down. After that, I started feeling good and got in a nice rhythm."</p>
<p>Paris hit a three with 8:36 to put BC up 65-62, which started a 9-8 Eagles run that gave BC a 74-70 edge with under three minutes to play. Two free throws from Southern made it a 76-70 game, but Bucknell back-to-back threes to tie the game with 2:36.</p>
<p>But once again, Paris buried a three to put BC up by three with two minutes remaining. Jackson hit one of two free throws with 56.5 seconds left to put the Eagles up 80-76, but Darryl Shazier (8 points, 10 rebounds) nailed a jumper to bring Bucknell within two.</p>
<p>Following a BC timeout, Jackson worked down the clock before passing to Raji who found Southern under the basket. Southern hesitated, but put the shot up for an easy layup, giving BC a four point cushion with 15.7 left.</p>
<p>Bucknell rushed the ball up the court and found Johnson, who took the ball to the basket for a layup with 8.3 ticks to go. After another timeout, Willman fouled Paris with 6.1 seconds left. Paris made both free throws, putting BC up 84-80. Shazier missed a three with less that three seconds left, sealing the Boston College victory.</p>
<p>The Eagles made 30-of-63 field goals (47.6%) and 12-of-30 threes (40%) in the game. In addition, Boston College made 12-of-15 free throws and finished with 36 rebounds, 19 assists and five turnovers.</p>
<p>"We're playing great collectively," Jackson said. "Like coach said, as long as we care that it gets done and not how it gets done or who does it, things are going to go well. That's how we've been playing."</p>
<p>Boston College brings its seven-game winning streak south to Kingston, Rhode Island to take on URI at the Ryan Center on Wednesday, December 29th at 7 p.m. EST.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/12/22/1892556/bucknell-bison-vs-boston-college-eagles-game-recap-dec-22Gethin Coolbaugh2010-12-22T19:50:01-05:002010-12-22T19:50:01-05:00Bucknell Vs. Boston College: Bison Lead Eagles 42-39 At Halftime
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<p><b>CHESTNUT HILL - </b>Bryson Johnson had 11 points at halftime to lead all scorers as Bucnkell took a surprising 42-39 lead over Boston College into halftime.</p>
<p>Mike Muscala and Bryan Cohen each had eight points for Bucknell. Joe Willman added six points and both Darryl Shazier and Cameron Ayers had three points a piece for the Bison.</p>
<p>Joe Trapani led Boston College with 10 points at the intermission. Reggie Jackson scored seven first-half points and both Danny Rubin and Corey Raji had six points for the Eagles.</p>
<p>Bucknell scored the first eight points of the game before Josh Southern put Boston College on the board with 17:12 left in the half. Danny Rubin then hit back-to-back threes to cut the Bison lead to 13-8 with 15:40 remaining, but Bucknell maintained its tenacity to build its lead to 37-21.</p>
<p>However, the Eagles responded with a 14-0 run to put themselves back in striking distance, 37-35, with 4:13 left. The Bison were able to hold off the Eagles run for the final four minutes before taking a three point advantage into the break.</p>
<p>Boston College made 14-of-29 field goals (48.3%) and 6-of-14 threes (42.9%) while Bucknell connected on 16-of-33 shots (48.5%) and 7-of-14 threes (50%) in the first half.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/12/22/1892474/bucknell-bison-vs-boston-college-eagles-game-update-halftimeGethin Coolbaugh2010-12-22T18:13:34-05:002010-12-22T18:13:34-05:00Bucknell Vs. Boston College: Greetings From Conte Forum
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<p><b>CHESTNUT HILL - </b>We're less than one hour away from game time, and there aren't very many fans here at Conte Forum. And for that matter, there aren't very many media members here either.</p>
<p>Boston College (9-2) is set to take on Bucknell (6-6) at 7 p.m. EST (WRKO). The match up many not appear very enticing, but there are some interesting plot lines to this game. First of all, both teams are riding winning streaks into tonight's match up.</p>
<p>The Eagles have been red hot, winning six games in a row and seven of their last eight. As for the Bison, they have won four games in a row entering tonight's tilt.</p>
<p>Naturally, the expected outcome tonight is a Boston College victory. That's what I'm calling for, but it won't be as sizable a victory as the Eagles' 93-77 win over Bryant on Sunday. Both teams should trade blows in the early going, and then the Boston College three-party will set sail (i.e. BC will make around four or five threes in a row to build a comfortable lead). My prediction? <b>Boston College wins by 15 points, 86-71,</b> to extend the win streak to seven.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/12/22/1892420/bucknell-bison-vs-boston-college-eagles-game-update-pregameGethin Coolbaugh2010-12-22T10:20:14-05:002010-12-22T10:20:14-05:00Bucknell Vs. Boston College: Eagles, Bison Meet For First Time In 59 Years
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<p>Steve Donahue took the helm of the Boston College men's basketball team on April 6, 2010. Many expected that he would issue in a new era of basketball in Chestnut Hill, but no one predicted that it would happen this quickly.</p>
<p>Boston College is off to a fast 9-2 start and has already started to garner national attention. The Eagles have won six games in a row and seven of their last eight. </p>
<p>Donahue and company will put their winning streak on the line when Boston College faces Bucknell for the first time since 1951 Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EST in Conte Forum (WRKO).</p>
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<p>In their only prior meeting, Boston College topped Bucknell, 86-64.</p>
<p>The Eagles are coming off of <a href="http://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/12/17/1872568/bryant-boston-college-ncaa-college-basketball-scores-updates-biko-paris-josh-southern">a 93-77 blowout win over Bryant University last Sunday</a>. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25514/josh-southern" class="sbn-auto-link">Josh Southern</a> scored a career high 18 points, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25504/biko-paris" class="sbn-auto-link">Biko Paris</a> added 18 points and Reggie Jackson added 16 points and nine assists.</p>
<p>Jackson has been the Eagles' runaway MVP through 11 games, averaging 18.9 points, 4.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He ranks second in the ACC in scoring, second in field goal percentage (52.1%) and ranks second in the conference in assists per game. Jackson's stellar start to the season has made him an early favorite to win the ACC Player of the Year award.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25507/joe-trapani" class="sbn-auto-link">Joe Trapani</a> is second in scoring (12.6 points per game) and is the Eagles' leading rebounder with 69 boards (6.3 per game). However, Trapani has not shot the ball well this season, making 43-of-122 field goals (35.2%) and 13-of-46 three pointers (28.3%).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25506/corey-raji" class="sbn-auto-link">Corey Raji</a> is third in scoring (11.6 points per game ) and second in rebounding with 55 total (6.1 per game). Raji is shooting 57.1% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc. Raji started the Eagles first two games, but was replaced by freshman <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123243/danny-rubin" class="sbn-auto-link">Danny Rubin</a> (7.5 points per game) after he was playing well in practice.</p>
<p>Paris has been one of the Eagles' pleasant surprises this season. Through 11 games, Paris is averaging 11.5 points, three assists and has a field goal percentage of 47.9%. Even more impressive has been Paris' performance from distance, as he has made a team-high 25-of-58 threes to shoot 43.1% behind the arc.</p>
<p>Southern has also been a solid contributor this season. In 10 games and three starts, Southern has averaged 8.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. After missing some time at the beginning of the season following intestinal surgery in the off-season, Southern struggled in the early going, but has rebounded to become a force in the paint.</p>
<p>The Eagles will be bolstered by the return of <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25515/cortney-dunn" class="sbn-auto-link">Cortney Dunn</a>, who is returning from a three game suspension for violating team policy. Dunn is averaging two points and 2.3 rebounds in eight games in 2010.</p>
<p>Bucknell (6-6) has had a bumpy start to the season, going 2-6 in its first eight games. However, the Bison responded by winning their last four games. The Bison have already defeated a team from Boston, as Bucknell topped Boston University 52-49 on Saturday, December 4th.</p>
<p>In its last game, Bucknell defeated Steve Donahue's former team, Cornell, 75-64 at Newman Arena. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100880/mike-muscala" class="sbn-auto-link">Mike Muscala</a> scored a team-high 20 points, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53429/bryan-cohen" class="sbn-auto-link">Bryan Cohen</a> totaled 17 points and eight rebounds and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100884/joe-willman" class="sbn-auto-link">Joe Willman</a> added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bison. Bucknell made 25-of-50 field goals (50%), 6-of-9 threes (66.7%) and 19-of-25 free throws in the victory.</p>
<p>Muscala leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points and a team-high 6.1 rebonds. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28863/g-w-boon" class="sbn-auto-link">G.W. Boon</a> is the only other Bison to averaged double-digit scoring with 10.7 points per contest. He is also leading the team in free throw percentage 88.9%. Bucknell has three other players averaging at least eight points: Cohen (8.3 PPG), <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100883/bryson-johnson" class="sbn-auto-link">Bryson Johnson</a> (8.2 PPG) and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28860/darryl-shazier" class="sbn-auto-link">Darryl Shazier</a> (8 PPG).</p>
<p>While Boston College is facing a middle-of-the-road team in Bucknell,it is not letting down one bit. The Eagles learned their lesson after letting their guard down against Yale earlier this season, which resulted in <a href="http://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2010/11/18/1817230/yale-at-boston-college-college-basketball-scores">an embarrassing 75-67 loss at Conte Forum</a>.</p>
<p>"We've been preparing since the loss to Yale not to overlook any teams and come out and play our same game no matter who we're playing," Paris said after Boston College's win against Bryant. "The coach is doing a wonderful job getting us prepared mentally and physically to play teams like this."</p>
<p>Following Wednesday nights game at Conte Forum, Boston College travels south to face the University of Rhode Island on Wednesday, December 29th in their final game of 2010.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2010/12/22/2326739/bucknell-vs-boston-college-eagles-bison-meet-for-first-time-in-59Gethin Coolbaugh