Jordan Williams kept throwing haymakers at Boston College. But the Eagles kept taking them — and throwing their own. Resilience was the theme for Boston College on Sunday at Comcast Center. One of its most resilient players, senior Corey Raji, scored the game’s last six points over the final 91 seconds, leading the Eagles to a 79-75 victory in front of 15,851.
Raji, a starter since late in his freshman year, was benched two games into this season by new coach Steve Donahue. But the 6-foot-6 swingman has emerged as a valued sixth man.
On Sunday, Raji (11 points) scored on a driving layup with 1:31 left to tie the game at 75-75. Then with 38 seconds left, he drained a 3-pointer, the Eagles’ 13th of the game, from the left wing, giving BC the lead for good at 78-75.
“I can’t remember the last time I told one of my guys they had taken a bad shot,” Donahue said. “I don’t want to put that thought into their heads.”
While Raji was coming up clutch, Maryland failed to score on its last six possessions after taking a 75-72 lead on a layup by Adrian Bowie with 2:38 left. Senior Cliff Tucker (six points) missed two free throws, two 3-pointers and committed a turnover. Freshman Terrell Stoglin (14 points) missed two field goal attempts and a 1-and-1 free throw.
“He’s trying to win the game,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “Give him credit for that.”
In its ACC opener, Maryland (7-4, 0-1) lost on a night when Jordan Williams (27 points, 13 rebounds) scored a career high on 12-for-16 shooting. The Terps shot 49 percent from the floor and committed just nine turnovers.
The difference was 3-pointers. While BC (8-2, 1-0) hit 13 of 29 from beyond the arc (45 percent), Maryland made just three of 17 (18 percent). The Eagles’ 3s came from five different players. Senior guard Biko Paris (22 points) did the most damage, hitting six of 10.
“We’ve been establishing ourselves as who we are as a team,” Paris said. “We shoot 3s and play hard on defense.”
BC also played hard on offense, beating Maryland down the floor for several layups. Three came within 10 seconds of the Terps making field goals.
“Our transition defense definitely needs improvement,” Jordan Williams said. “When I would score, everyone was watching me score, myself included. I was just jogging back, and they would get a layup. We have to be a lot more mentally tough than we were tonight.”
