Wake Forest, missing No. 2 scorer, struggles on offense in loss at Boston College
Jerome Robinson scored 25 points with five rebounds and five assists to carry Boston College to a 77-71 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday.
Steffon Mitchell scored 17 points, Ky Bowman added 11 with 10 boards and Jordan Chatman scored 12 points for the Eagles (11-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Robinson also went 10 for 10 from the foul line to help BC snap a two-game losing skid.
Bryant Crawford led Wake Forest (8-7, 1-2) with 24 points, and Chaundee Brown had 20 with six rebounds.
BC held a one-point lead before going on a 17-6 run over 7 ½ minutes midway in the second half. Robinson started the spurt with a one-handed baseline flip and capped it with a 3-point play after he was fouled flipping an off-balance shot with his body turned sideways in the lane and made the free throw.
Robinson then made both ends of a 1-and-1 and Bowman hit one from the line, pushing the Eagles ahead 63-51 with 4:30 to go. Bowman added a highlight dunk in the run.
Wake Forest closed it to 63-56, but Robinson's 3-pointer from the left corner — in front of his team's bench — helped seal it.
BC used a 12-2 spree late in the half to go up 35-30 before Wake Forest scored the final five points. Brown nailed a 3 and Donovan Mitchell tied it with a tip-in in the closing seconds.
BIG PICTURE
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons struggled, at times, for offense with their second-leading scorer, Keyshawn Woods (14.8 per game), sidelined with a knee injury. With two games coming up against second-ranked Duke and one against No. 8 Virginia in their next five, they'll have to either get him back or find scoring elsewhere.
Boston College: Coming off close losses against ranked teams in their last two ACC games, the Eagles needed a victory to not have their upset over then-No. 1 Duke in their conference opener fade completely away in their bid to build respect in the conference.
LOFTY NUMBERS
Robinson entered the day leading the ACC in scoring in conference play, averaging 27.0 points per game.
He scored a season-high 29 in a one-point loss at then-No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 30 and 28 in a loss against No. 25 Clemson in the Eagles' previous game.
CROWD PLEASER
Bowman drove in on a fast break, dribbled behind his back before capping it off with a reverse dunk that put BC up 50-45 with just under 12 minutes to play.
MOOKIE SIGHTING
Red Sox star outfielder Mookie Betts watched the game from the front row across from BC's bench.
UP NEXT
Wake Forest: Hosts Virginia Tech on Wednesday before two straight road games.
Boston College: At No. 12 North Carolina on Tuesday before consecutive home games against Dartmouth and No. 24 Florida State.
BOSTON COLLEGE 77, WAKE FOREST 71
WAKE FOREST (8-7)
Thompson 1-6 2-3 4, Moore 1-4 1-2 3, Crawford 8-24 3-3 24, Wilbekin 4-9 2-3 11, Brown 7-12 0-0 20, D.Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2, Sarr 1-2 0-0 2, Spivey 0-0 0-0 0, Childress 1-10 3-4 5, Eggleston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-69 11-15 71.
BOSTON COLLEGE (11-5)
S.Mitchell 6-13 4-6 17, Popovic 3-10 4-6 10, Robinson 6-15 10-10 25, Bowman 4-8 2-4 11, Chatman 2-8 6-7 12, Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Kraljevic 0-3 0-2 0, Reyes 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-59 26-35 77.
Halftime—35-35. 3-Point Goals—Wake Forest 12-26 (Brown 6-7, Crawford 5-10, Wilbekin 1-4, D.Mitchell 0-1, Childress 0-4), Boston College 7-22 (Robinson 3-6, Chatman 2-7, Bowman 1-2, S.Mitchell 1-4, Kraljevic 0-1, Popovic 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Wake Forest 43 (Moore 9), Boston College 35 (Bowman 10). Assists—Wake Forest 14 (Childress 5), Boston College 15 (Robinson 5). Total Fouls—Wake Forest 25, Boston College 16.
This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Wake Forest, missing No. 2 scorer, struggles on offense in loss at Boston College."