The challenge for Boston College was getting to the point where it finally broke through without breaking down.

The Eagles had clawed in the first half to make it a one-possession game against Syracuse going into the break, even though they were missing two starters against an Orange team that beat them by 22 barely a month ago.

When Dennis Clifford snatched an offensive rebound, quickly went back up with the putback attempt, and watched a stubborn layup eventually roll down the lip of the rim and through the net four minutes into the second half to finally pull the Eagles even, he let out a howl as he walked back to the bench.

The Eagles went to him again in the post on their next possession, and he made another tough layup to put the Eagles up, 41-39.

The only problem was that there was still 15:43 left, and BC had to figure out a way to hold Syracuse off.

“I think at that point, as soon as you start looking up at the clock, it’s like you’re playing not to lose,’’ Clifford said. “Especially with a lot of young guys, I’m just trying to get them to keep playing, keep just fiercely trying to compete to the point where you’re trying to beat the crap out of the other team no matter what the score is. I think that’s been the problem with us.’’

It’s a problem the Eagles still haven’t been able to solve. Right after they took the lead, Syracuse wingman Michael Gbinije drilled a 3-pointer sparked of an 18-4 run that buried the Eagles in a 75-61 loss.

Led by Gbinije (17 points, 4 for 6 on 3-pointers) and Tyler Lydon (20 points, six rebounds), Syracuse smothered the Eagles with 40 points in the second half.

“When we go up 1, we need to get that next stop,’’ Clifford said. “I think that was a problem with us, and that’s been a problem. That next stop, just really attacking the next defensive possession with the mind-set that we have to get that stop. That’s important.’’

For a quick second late in the game, BC coach Jim Christian turned away from the play, put his head down with his fingers to the bridge of his nose, and looked like a man trying to shake a headache that he’d been dealing with for more than a month.

For all the energy he’d spent trying to figure out how to stop BC’s season from spiraling, the Eagles were on their way to a school-record-tying 12th straight loss. A 16-point, eight-rebound performance from Clifford couldn’t stop it. Neither could the 25 points off the bench from freshman Matt Milon.

“I thought offensively we executed very, very well,’’ Christian said. “I thought we got the ball where we wanted to go. We got shots that we wanted from the guys that we wanted shooting them. Offensively, we were terrific for the most part, playing against an unbelievably good defensive team — especially after what they did to us the first game.

“Our problem is defensively in the second half we gave them about three or four, what we call walk-in threes where they’re just in rhythm, no pressure, but two or three different guys, and you can’t do that. They have too many good shooters. Individual defensive breakdowns, just not aggressive enough or fatigued with the game on the line.’’

BC came into the game shorthanded. Jerome Robinson was still in street clothes, nursing the right wrist he fractured last month against Florida State that’s cost him five games and counting.

A.J. Turner joined him on the sideline, draped in all back besides the walking boot he wore on his right foot after suffering a high ankle sprain against North Carolina on Tuesday. The optimistic outlook is that he could return in two weeks.

The Eagles were also still without assistant coach Bill Wuczynski, who’s been away from the team since Tuesday after a death in the family.

But in the stands, they were also dramatically outnumbered. A crowd of 8,606 looked like a sea of orange.

“We’ve always drawn well here, we always have,’’ said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. “But I thought there was really a lot of people here today. I think it was about 75 percent or something.’’

It was impossible not to notice at swing moments. When Clifford made the go-ahead bucket, the faces on BC’s bench were probably the most animated in the building. When the Orange responded with their run, the gym couldn’t have been louder. It was as if the Eagles were playing a road game at home.

“I noticed it early, but I didn’t really think about it,’’ Boeheim said. “You shouldn’t really be thinking about it, anyway. Then when I looked around it had to be about 6,000 people today. It was quite a show.’’

Even though the Orange had the sixth man on their side, the Eagles still had the game in their grasp. Christian said his team has to figure out a way to push through.

“We took the lead, and that’s just our guys giving into fatigue,’’ Christian said. “You can feel sorry that we don’t have a lot of guys and we have two guys over there hurt, but the guys who are playing, that game’s in the balance and you’ve got to become mentally tougher to get through that.’’

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @julianbenbow.