BC MBB Takes Down The Irish, 84-72

Jan 21, 2023 - 9:01 PM

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Boston College completed the season sweep over the Irish today, winning 84-72.

After failing to convert even a single three-pointer against UNC, Quinten Post wasted no time in getting BC’s offense going early with three triples in the first 5 minutes of the contest. When Notre Dame visited Boston College, Post was only available in limited spurts after coming off injury but his size was instrumental in BC’s victory. Early on, he dominated offensively for the Eagles. Seemingly every time BC missed a shot, Post was right there to fight for the offensive rebound. Even if he could not come down with it, he made life difficult for the ND frontcourt.

ND F Nate Laszewski scored 8 early points to keep the contest tight, before a Hammond triple gave Notre Dame a 19-16 lead with 9:33 remaining in the half. Boston College’s offense was able to dominate once the ball was down low, but Notre Dame’s defense along the perimeter led to several turnovers on attempted Eagles entry passes – especially when Post sat. As the Eagle’s offense quieted, however, ND’s shooters got hot and allowed the Irish to take a 9-point lead. An Ashton-Langford triple, followed by a Madsen dunk, cut the deficit to 4 but Ven Lubin hit an and-1 for the Irish. With 3:18 to play in the first half, Notre Dame led 32-26.

Over the next two minutes, however, BC went on an 8-0 run as Ashton-Langford drilled back-to-back threes before a hard Bickerstaff drive to the cup resulted in a nice bucket. At half, Boston College led 36-35. Except for some unnecessary turnovers and an inability to force a Laszewski miss, BC played well in the first half. They competed defensively, responded offensively whenever it seemed like ND would pull away, and hit 7/11(!) threes.

Boston College forced an ND missed three before Prince Aligbe drew a foul and hit a free throw to give BC a 3-point lead. The offensive success continued, as Langford Jr. got to his spot and drilled the jumper before two more Post points gave BC the 41-35 lead with 18:06 to play. Notre Dame’s threes stopped falling, and as a result their offensive ground to a halt for the first few minutes of the second half. BC led by 10 with 15 minutes to play, as Langford Jr. continued to talk and ND went 0/8 to start the second half.

ND G Cormac Ryan hit a free throw and a deep 3 to cut the Eagle lead to 10, and then Laszewski began to take over again. He hit a 3 to spark a rapid Irish 8-0 run, before a Madsen triple put BC ahead 54-47. Then BC began pressing – which they had avoided doing for the most part throughout the game – and the result was a quick, wide-open Dane Goodwin triple. Cormac Ryan followed with another triple to give ND a 1-point lead. With around 8 minutes to play, BC and ND began trading buckets. An Aligbe 3 gave BC a 4-point lead, but Ryan answered right back. With 6:48 to play, BC led 63-62.

Post then decided to take over. He got yet another triple to fall (he went 4/5 on the day) and then scored back-to-back layups to lead BC to a 72-68 lead with 3:47 to play. Down the stretch, Zackery hit two big free throws to give BC a 74-69 lead, before he fouled out with 2:46 to play. BC responded instantly via who else but Quinten Post, who hit the layup through a foul to give BC a 77-71 lead with 2:23 to play. Makai then hit the dagger with a deep triple, and BC went on for a relatively comfortable 84-72 win.

Overall, Quinten Post delivered his best performance of the season and one of the best of his career. He dropped a career-high 29 points on 10/14 shooting, while adding 14 boards and 3 blocks. He reminded everyone that he can be dominant, especially against smaller teams. Grant mostly avoided using the press, and defensively the Eagles played well. ND’s volume-shooting offense was held to just over 70 points, and it took a career-high 29 points from Laszewski to do so. BC shot 57% from behind the arc and 88% from the charity stripe, and the offense was effective for most of the game. A complete performance against the Irish.