“I think it showed us that if we could have stretches against one of the better teams in the country, what we could do,’’ said Clifford, who hit a key tiebreaking short jumper in the Eagles’ win over Clemson.
Boston College, which suffered embarrassing home losses against in-state rivals Massachusetts, Boston University and Harvard, now feels like people are starting to enjoy a team that’s filled with nine freshman.
“Obviously with two ACC wins under our belts right now, I feel like people are getting behind us and its a lot more fun to play,’’ Anderson said.
The Eagles were picked last in the conference’s preseason poll, but have started off with a bit of a surprise.
“We rebounded well from Carolina,’’ Eagles coach Steve Donahue said. “It’s been a fun group to coach. Everybody comes ready. They did everything consistently (today). They’re getting better because they have more confidence.’’
Victor Davila had 14 points and Dorenzo Hudson 13 to pace the Hokies (11-6, 0-3).
Virginia Tech’s leading scorer Erick Green was sidelined with a sprained left knee. Virginia Tech shot just 36.2 percent (17 of 47).
The Hokies lost their first two conference games by three points to Wake Forest and four to Florida State.
“We can’t dwell on the losses,’’ Hudson said. “We’ve got to be ready to play. I feel like we’re a very good team. We’ve got to remain together.’’
The Eagles had opened an 11-point lead with 3:40 left before Robert Brown nailed consecutive 3s to trigger a brief spurt that closed it to 58-53 with 2:16 left. But Virginia Tech rushed some quick shots and BC turned the ball over before Gabe Moton’s one free throw gave the Eagles a six-point edge with 26 seconds left.
The loss of Green showed down the stretch when the Hokies had to hurry shots, trying to come back.
“I think we did a good job defensively, but we struggled offensively,’’ Brown said. “I think we lost this game instead of them winning it.’’
The Hokies did cut it to the final margin on Jarell Eddie’s 3 with three-tenths of a second, but the Eagles inbounded the ball off Clifford’s hands and the buzzer sounded as it was in the air before a Hokies’ player could grab it.
