CLEMSON, S.C. — Brevin Galloway sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds left and Boston College rallied from a 23-point first-half deficit to beat Clemson 70-68 in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday.
Galloway, who hasn’t played much all year and didn’t practice Friday because of a lingering leg injury, came off the bench to provide a spark for the Eagles (7-8, 2-3), who trailed 34-11 with 7:11 remaining until halftime before coming back to end a five-game losing streak and a nine-game skid against the Tigers (10-7, 2-4). Prior to Saturday, the nine-game losing streak to Clemson was the Eagles’ longest active losing streak to an opponent.
“The biggest thing is I just think God kind of gave us the endurance, courage, and perseverance,” said BC coach Earl Grant, who met Galloway at camp at Clemson when he was 12 and Grant was an assistant coach for the Tigers. “We’ve had a couple of tough weeks where we lost some close games. We showed great perseverance and character.”
Makai Ashton-Langford scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half for Boston College after the Eagles closed to within 39-32 by halftime . He made 1 of 2 free throws with 15 seconds left to cap the scoring. James Karnik scored 17 on 8-of-11 shooting.
“We were down big in the game, we didn’t execute or game plan in the first seven minutes, but we stayed poised,” Grant said. “The crowd was really loud here, the students were back. They had about 7,500 fans. It was very loud and in the first seven minutes it bothered us. We got down big, but then we just started chipping away.
“Just really proud for the players, proud for administration, and proud for BC nation.”
Al-Amir Dawes had 17 points — all in the first half — to lead Clemson. Dawes missed his only two shots in the second half. David Collins added 15 points and seven boards, while PJ Hall scored 12.
Clemson got out of the gates quickly against Boston College, leading 34-11 with 7:11 left in the opening stanza. Things settled down and the Eagles finished the period on a 21-5 run to pull to within seven.
The second half ended up being a game of runs with the Tigers holding its advantage throughout, but with the score tied at 60-60 and following a Collins made jumper, Clemson lost the Eagles’ Galloway in transition, and he hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game with 26 seconds left. The Tigers wouldn’t be able to overcome it in the final moments and fell by two.
Boston College fell behind 9-0 and didn’t take its first lead until Galloway’s game-winner.
“It was amazing to be able to hug (Galloway) after the game,” Grant said.