Robinson's 25 points carries BC past Wake Forest 77-71 (Jan 06, 2018)
BOSTON (AP) Boston College's plan is to rely heavily on the play of their talented guards Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman.
The pair will have plenty of playing time, too, because they've been on the floor for every minute in each of their last three Atlantic Coast Conference games.
Robinson scored 25 points with five rebounds and five assists to carry Boston College to a 77-71 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday.
Coming into Saturday's game, Bowman was fourth in the league in minutes and Robinson seventh.
''We don't wear down - knock on wood,'' BC coach Jim Christian said, tapping the table for emphasis. ''We rest. We don't really practice that long because these guys know what we're doing.''
Steffon Mitchell scored 17 points, Bowman added 11 with 10 boards and Jordan Chatman scored 12 points for the Eagles (11-5, 2-2 ACC). Robinson also went 10 for 10 from the foul line to help BC snap a two-game losing skid.
''Going into the ballgame, we knew they played their starters heavy minutes,'' Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning said. ''We thought we could wear them down and that was not the case tonight.''
''Just rest, recover, really,' Robinson said of the lofty minutes.
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 1/2 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.
The pair were too much for Wake Forest to stop.
''They average probably like a minute off a game,'' Crawford said. ''That's pretty impressive.''
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.
''Bowman and Robinson - those two guys are pretty dynamic and explosive,'' Manning said.
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.
''Next man up,'' Manning said. ''You've got to make shots when you're out there and we didn't do that.''
The Demon Deacons shot only 29.4 in the second half, missing 24 of 34 shots.
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 fastbreak, 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.
''It's awesome watching him on the fastbreak,'' Steffon Mitchell said. ''As soon as he leaves, you know something special's going to happen.''
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.