(4) Duke 62, Boston College 61: Near miss for the Eagles

In a wild, maniacal season of upsets, this one would have been the most unlikely.

With 2:16 left, a Boston College team that had lost six of seven had college royalty Duke, the fourth-ranked team in the land, by five points. It was not enough.

"You have no idea how this tears you up," said Eagles coach Steve Donahue after the crushing 62-61 loss before a rollicking gathering of 6,709 at Conte Forum.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knew he?d gotten out of town just in time. This wasn?t about his vaunted team. "It was about them," he said. The losing team. "They were terrific."

Freshman Olivier Hanlan?s two free throws had given BC a 61-56 lead. Quinn Cook hit a 3 for Duke to make it a two-point game. Duke tied it at 61 on a pair from the line by Mason Plumlee with 46 seconds left. Plumlee went back to the line for two more with 25 seconds left. He made just one.

The Eagles called timeout with 21 seconds remaining. With the clock winding down and everybody in the building standing, Hanlan drove the lane and missed. Several players desperately grasping for the rebound, including BC?s Ryan Anderson, tumbled to the floor. As Anderson fought for the ball, hoping for one last shot, the buzzer sounded.

Upset alert turned into a false alarm.

Donahue thought his team "matured a great deal. Their attitude was, ?Let?s grind it out, play in the moment.? ? We had the ball. Last shot. Couldn?t ask for much more than that."

Hanlan, the only ACC player from Canada (Quebec) led all scorers with 20. "Olivier played terrific," said Donahue. "This is his life. He wants to be great. The reason we can play with Duke is Olivier Hanlan."

Anderson finished with 17 points and six rebounds. "He?s really a good player," said Krzyzewski. "He?s not a 4 or a 5. He?s a basketball player. It makes him hard to guard. He made some big plays."

Plumlee (19) and Seth Curry (18) topped Duke?s scoring. The Blue Devils move to 21-2 (8-2 in the ACC). BC slips to 10-13 (2-8).

"Nothing about tonight was easy," said Krzyzewski. About all the upsets this season, he said, "There are a lot of good teams and no great ones."

BC played about as well as it could. Donahue liked his team?s defensive stamina. Duke shot just 40 percent, BC 44.7. "We tried to stay away from Duke?s four or five baskets runs," he said

"It?s extremely disappointing. We almost beat an elite team," said Donahue.

The Eagles came out playing dedicated defense. It took Duke nearly five minutes to get on the board.

The Blue Devils took a 25-24 lead on Plumlee?s conventional three-point play, but Hanlan responded quickly at the other end for a three to put the Eagles back up by 2. The half ended 27-27 when Plumlee stuffed in a putback off a missed shot.

Curry (8) and Plumlee (7) led the Duke scoring. Hanlan had 10 for BC. The visitors shot 44 percent to BC?s 38.

With Wake Forest here Wednesday night, Donahue was hoping to put this game behind him as quickly as possible. "There are a lot worse things in life."

In the moment though, it really stung.

Lenny Megliola can be reached at lennymegs@aol.com.

Source: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/pros_and_colleges/x171145890/-4-Duke-62-Boston-College-61-Near-miss-for-the-Eagles

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