Men's Basketball

Eagles Soar Past Jackets Into Second Round

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Ky Bowman had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead Boston College over Georgia Tech 87-77 on Tuesday in the opening game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Sophomore forward Nik Popovic scored a career-high 20 points and Jerome Robinson, runner-up for ACC Player of the Year, added 19 on 5-of-17 shooting for Boston College. Despite going 2-for-14 from 3-point range, the Eagles never trailed and were in control throughout against a Georgia Tech team that struggled to score all season.

Tadric Jackson had 23 of his 29 points in the second half for the 13th-seeded Yellow Jackets (13-19), who won their final two regular-season games after losing seven straight and 11 of 12. Ben Lammers added 18 points and leading scorer Josh Okogie had 14 on 5-for-20 shooting.

Jordan Chatman chipped in with 13 points for the Eagles, who had lost four of five.

Boston College's last three ACC Tournament wins have come against Georgia Tech. The previous two were in 2015 and 2012.

After trailing by 10 at halftime, Georgia Tech missed its first nine field-goal attempts in the second half and the Eagles opened their largest lead, 51-31, on Bowman's three-point play with 13:37 remaining.

The pressing Yellow Jackets forced a flurry of late turnovers and cut the margin to six with 45 seconds left, but Boston College closed it out at the free-throw line.

BC seized control with an early 9-0 run and went into halftime with a 36-26 cushion. Lammers led all scorers with 11 points in the half.

ACC Tourney Notes
Boston College (18-14) moved on to Wednesday’s 2 p.m. second-round game and will face fifth-seeded NC State (21-10) at Barclays Center. The Eagles dropped an 82-66 road decision to the Wolfpack in the regular-season meeting between the teams on Feb. 20.
 
Boston College improved to 9-12 all-time in the New York Life ACC Tournament. The Eagles won their first tournament game since edging Georgia Tech 66-65 in the opening round at Greensboro in 2015. Boston College was also seeded No. 12 and the Yellow Jackets No. 13 for that matchup.
 
The No. 12 seed is now 5-0 versus the No. 13 seed in ACC Tournament play.
 
Georgia Tech slipped to 26-36 all-time in the ACC Tournament and to 4-10 in the opening round.

Boston College’s 87 points on Tuesday were its most ever in an ACC Tournament game, topping the Eagles’ 85 in a three-point win over North Carolina in the 2006 semifinals at Greensboro.
 
With 26 points, Boston College sophomore Ky Bowman reached double figures in scoring for the sixth consecutive game and the 30th time in 32 games this season …. The ACC’s sixth-leading scorer also pulled down 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of 2017-18 and his eighth overall as an Eagle.
 
The Eagles’ Nik Popovic totaled a career scoring high with 20 points … The sophomore went 8-for-11 from the floor.
 
Boston College All-ACC first-teamer Jerome Robinson added 19 points. Robinson, who posted his 29th double-figure scoring game of the year, has averaged 18.6 points in five career games at Barclays Center.
 
With his game-high 11 rebounds, Boston College freshman forward Steffon Mitchell posted his ninth double-figure rebounding game of the season.
 
The Eagles’ Jordan Chatman connected on one 3-point shot attempt and ranks third among ACC players with 80 successful shots from beyond the arc this season. Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell leads with 86 made 3-pointers, and Duke’s Gary Trent has connected from bonus range 82 times.
 
With his game-high 29 points, Yellow Jackets senior Tadric Jackson matched his career high (set versus Boston College in 2017) and closed with his sixth consecutive double-figure scoring game and his 21st in 29 games this season … Jackson, who became the 44th player in program history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 31 of this year, finished with 1,136 points for his four seasons.
 
Georgia Tech senior Ben Lammers blocked four shots and will close with 254 for his career to rank third on the school’s all-time list … With 18 points, Lammers also posted his 23rd double-figure scoring game of the season … He closed his Georgia Tech career with 1,055 career points and is the school’s 10th all-time leading rebounder with 774 … Lammers made a career-high 10 free throws Tuesday on 12 attempts.
 
With 14 points, Georgia Tech sophomore Josh Okogie scored in double figures for the 22nd time in the 44 games in which he played this season … Okogie has 54 double-figure scoring games for his career.