Boston College did not want this type of flashback Sunday, against Miami.
Three days earlier, the young Eagles were tied (after an 8-0 run) 44-44 with No. 19 Virginia with 10:36 left in the game. The Cavaliers then finished with a 22-3 flourish as BC ran out of gas.
Then, Sunday, playing at home, Steve Donahue's team was tied 49-49 with Miami with 6:58 remaining, in a game that had gone back and forth all day. Just like that, though, the Hurricanes ran off 14 straight points, the first 10 coming in a 2:34 span, and then cruised home to 76-54 ACC win.
This is what being basically an all-freshman team does to you in a big-time conference.
"I thought we fought hard for about 30 minutes there and then I think what we were doing most of the game probably caught up to us," Donahue said. "We just weren't strong enough with the basketball, decision-making wasn't great and I thought we fought hard on the defensive end, but we had lapses there in execution as well.
"For 30 minutes we fought hard and did as much as we could. Unfortunately down the stretch they made us pay."
"The last seven minutes we kind of gave up and caved in," said forward Matt Humphrey. "We've got to get over that hump."
They will try to get over that hump Feb. 1, with a visit from North Carolina State, a team that beat BC by 14 points down in Raleigh, and then a road game at Georgia Tech, one of the Eagles' neighbors near the bottom of the conference standings.
This is getting to be a grind for a young team that has no one with experience to turn to when things get rough. They got rough at Virginia and then again Sunday at home, and both games got away, in a big way, and that's why the Eagles (7-14) have a four-game losing streak, matching their longest of the season.
"It's very frustrating," guard Ryan Humphrey said of BC not finishing these games. "I just think we've got to fight through it. We can't think the game is won just because we're in the game down that stretch. If there's seven minutes left to go, we've got to play seven more minutes."
NOTES, QUOTES
--BC equaled its longest streak of the season, losing four in a row by 14, 15, 19 and 18. The Eagles also lost four in a row from Nov. 27 through Dec. 8 before beating Stony Brook. All five BC losses in the conference have been by at least 14 points.
--The Eagles were guilty of 17 turnovers in each of the two games lost the week of Jan. 23, at Virginia and at home against Miami.
--BC has lost six of the last eight games against Miami, an old friend from the Big East. But thanks to a 13-0 run from 2000-01 into '07-08, the Eagles still lead the all-time series, 25-14, 8-6 since the programs joined the ACC.
--Sunday's game was a battle between two of the ACC's top three 3-point shooting teams. Miami, which came in No. 2, was 7-for-21, while the Eagles, No. 3, were 7-for-19.
--Miami coach Jim Larranaga before facing the young Eagles: "They're starting four freshmen, but they have played so many minutes so many games, they're like a veteran team. "They know the system very well, won two conference games, and they're a team to reckon with for the future."
--BC started the season 2-12 when trailing at halftime.
--BC's 47 points at Virginia were one of its season lows. The Eagles scored 46 against Massachusetts on Nov. 21.
--Sunday's game was the opener of a men's/women's double-header between the schools.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Unfortunately, during a lot of games this year, we've run out of gas." -- Coach Steve Donahue, after the loss at Virginia, a performance that was repeated at home in the loss to Miami.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
--vs North Carolina State, Feb. 1
KEY MATCHUPS: It's an interesting week for the Eagles, who try to even the season score with North Carolina State, 76-62 winners over BC in Raleigh. The Eagles have another game you would think they can win at home but they've suddenly dropped two straight at Conte Forum, and the Wolfpack can score; they were third in the ACC in scoring.
--at Georgia Tech, Feb. 4
The Georgia Tech road game is between two of the three teams hanging out near the bottom of the league standings. BC entered the week with one more win that both Techs: Georgia and Virginia. But the Yellow Jackets will be at home and they're also fifth in the league in defense. This one should be low scoring.
FUTURES MARKET
Freshman F Ryan Anderson scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in Sunday's home loss to Miami, ending a mini run of two straight double-doubles. He had 13 points and 11 rebounds against Wake Forest and then totaled 12 and 10 in the loss at Virginia. He has five double-doubles on the season and is the owner of the only ones recorded by his team.
PLAYER NOTES
--Freshman G Patrick Heckmann (illness) and senior John Cahill (shoulder) were both out for BC in Sunday's loss to of Miami. Both were on the bench in street clothes.
--The Eagles were one of three teams in the country without a player averaging in double figures in scoring, through the weekend. There was a logjam at the top, with freshman C Dennis Clifford leading at 9.8, followed by F Ryan Anderson at 9.7, and two others at 9.1.
--F Ryan Anderson led the team in rebounds, at 6.6 per game, while C Dennis Clifford has grabbed 5.2 per game, entering the week.
--Freshman G Lonnie Jackson picked up a second-half technical foul Sunday.
