BC Basketball: Season Ends in NIT Opener

How It Happened
Boston College breakthrough 2017-18 season ended tonight at Western Kentucky, as the Eagles fell, 79-62, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Eagles started the game strong, opening up a 13-7 lead less than five minutes into the first quarter.  The game was played with modified rules changes, including going from the traditional 20:00 halves to four 10:00 quarters.  A Ky Bowman 3-pointer at the end of the quarter gave BC a 24-19 lead.

Western Kentucky’s offense came alive in the second quarter, as the Hilltoppers made 8-of-12 shots from the floor, outscoring BC 22-9.  WKU led 41-33 at the break, connecting on a layup as time expired.

In the third quarter, BC cut it to seven – at 44-37 – with 7:15 to go in the period.  But the ‘Toppers used a 15-7 push, combined with just 4-of-14 shooting from the floor by BC.  WKU connected on another bucket at the buzzer – a 3-pointer – to take a 59-44 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Hilltoppers extended their lead to 17 points – 68-51 – with 6:17 to go before BC scored seven unanswered – five by Bowman and two from Jordan Chatman – to get as close as 10 points.  WKU kept it out of reach for the Eagles down the stretch, outscoring BC 9-2 over the final 3:59.

Inside the Box Score

• The best backcourt in the ACC – Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson – led the Eagles offensively.
• Bowman scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 38 minutes of play, while Robinson added 17 points.
• Steffon Mitchell posted his 13th game with double-digit rebounds, pulling down 10 boards (six offensive; four defensive).  He added eight points, two steals, a blocked shot and an assist.
• Jordan Chatman scored six points, making 2-of-7 shots from the floor.  The seven field goal attempts were the lowest for Chatman in 11 games.
• BC shot 38.5% from the floor (25-65) for the game – the lowest by the Eagles since connecting on 35.4% of its shot attempts at Louisville on Jan. 21.  The Eagles made 4-of-19 shots from beyond the arc – which was extended back to the FIBA international distance of 22 feet, 1.75 inches.

Notables

• The trip to the NIT was BC’s first postseason appearance since the 2011 season.
• The 19 wins for the Eagles were the most since the 2010-11 campaign (21).
• Jerome Robinson finished the 2017-18 season with 725 points – the second-best single-season scoring total in Boston College history.

Stat of the Season
8.3 – Steffon Mitchell became the first freshman in Boston College history to average better than 8.0 rebounds per game.  The Shakopee, Minn. native averaged 8.3 boards per outing, totaling 281 boards in his 33 games.  He is also the sixth freshman in BC history to lead the Eagles in rebounding in his first collegiate season.