Boston College-Georgia Tech: Eagles Lose Lead Late, Sting Yellow Jackets in OT

In a tightly contested game that required overtime to determine a victor, one indisputable fact made all the difference in the outcome.

Boston College had Tyrese Rice. Georgia Tech didn't.

The Eagles downed the Yellow Jackets 80-76 in Atlanta last night to pick up a much-needed road win and halt a four-game losing streak.

Rice led the way with 26 points—24 of them came after halftime—five assists, and five steals.

But like he has done so many times throughout his B.C. career, Rice saved his best for last.

After the Eagles blew a 14-point second half lead, the senior tied the game with a floater in the lane. Rice then sank two free throws to regain the lead for the Eagles before freshman sensation Iman Shumpert hit two free throws of his own to force the extra frame.

Once in overtime, Rice and sophomore Corey Raji each scored six of B.C.'s 14 points to hold off Georgia Tech for the win.

Like he did at the end of regulation, Rice scored the last four points for the Eagles in the overtime session.

The first two came on a remarkable scoop shot as he just beat the shot clock to put the Eagles up four with 20 seconds remaining.

After the Jackets scored to cut the lead to a single basket, Rice calmly stepped to the line with 6.6 seconds left and nailed both free throws to ice the win.

For a game that concluded with such high drama, the same can't be said for how it began.

Both teams appeared to have left their games in the locker rooms as each squad struggled to score among a myriad of missed shots, poor offensive execution, and turnovers.

With less than eight minutes until halftime, the Jackets had a two-point lead at 17-15.

Georgia Tech's problems stemmed from the fact that Shumpert only played three minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls.

The Eagles simply couldn't get their star going as Rice closed out the first 20 minutes with two points.

When the second frame began, the Eagles found their rhythm, but they also started to rack up the fouls.

Boston College forged a 10-point lead with 8:06 to play when center Josh Southern (four points, two rebounds) headed to the bench with his fifth foul.

A little over four minutes later, Joe Trapani (12 points, five boards) joined his teammate on the sidelines when he was whistled for his fifth foul.

And less than two minutes after Trapani fouled out, the Eagles lost their third starter of the night when Rakim Sanders was called for a push at the 2:42 mark.

The loss of Sanders was critical for B.C. because at the time of his disqualification, the sophomore had scored 19 points (including 3-of-3 on three-pointers) and dished out five assists.

During the last eight minutes of the game, when the Eagles began to lose players and the Jackets trailed by 14, Coach Paul Hewitt had his team turn up the defensive pressure on B.C.

The strategy worked as the Eagles committed turnover after turnover, which Georgia Tech cashed in to erase the deficit and bring the sparse crowd to its feet.

But with under a minute to go, Rice, much to the delight of his coaches and teammates, reminded everyone exactly which team he was on.

Gani Lawal posted a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) for Georgia Tech, while Shumpert notched 16 points with two assists.

Moe Miller provided a spark off the bench for the Yellow Jackets with 13 points—including a breakaway dunk that gave his team a short-lived lead near the end of regulation—and seven boards.

The loss dropped Georgia Tech to 9-9 on the season and kept them winless (0-5) in ACC play.

Boston College improved to 14-6 with a mark of 2-3 in the ACC after having lost three straight conference games.

The victory was the Eagles’ first league win since their shocking upset of then-No.1 North Carolina on Jan. 4 in Chapel Hill.

Since then, B.C. lost a non-league home game to Harvard while dropping ACC home games to Miami and Wake Forest and a road game to Virginia Tech.

The Eagles now have a chance to regain some momentum as their next three games are home against N.C. State, away versus Maryland, and a rematch against Virginia Tech in Boston. Those three foes sport a combined league record of only 5-6.

While Al Skinner might not know what he’ll get from his team night in and night out, he can be sure about one thing.

Tyrese Rice plays for him.