Entering Monday night’s matchup against Florida State, Boston College men’s basketball looked to snap a five-game losing streak and reach the 10-win mark after falling short last season.
Against the injury-ridden Seminoles (14–13, 7–10 Atlantic Coast) but without DeMarr Langford Jr., BC (10–16, 5–11) executed in all facets of its game for a wire-to-wire, 71–55 victory.
“We knew we were gonna be down a couple men—like them,” head coach Earl Grant said in his postgame press conference. “It was gonna come down to who had the most energy and the most willpower.”
Coming off a road loss to Syracuse on Saturday, BC started the contest with an 11–0 run, forcing an early Florida State timeout.
Unlike past games, the Eagles found much of their offensive success on Monday from behind the 3-point line. Jaeden Zackery provided a spark, registering 4-of-4 shooting from deep. The freshman finished the night with 18 points and eight rebounds. Brevin Galloway added another four 3-pointers, finishing with 14 total points. As a team, the Eagles shot 42.3 percent from three and 48.3 percent from the floor.
“That’s what we come in and work on every day,” Zackery said. “All of us will come in for practice after practice, get extra shots, and work on those threes, because we’ll hit them all day in practice and we’ve been struggling in the game, so it was good that it paid off.”
In addition to its shooting, BC’s intensity on defense helped the Eagles cruise to victory. Florida State turnovers and easy points in transition for the Eagles sparked an 11–0 BC run to start the game. With eight minutes remaining in the first half, BC had forced nine Florida State turnovers. BC headed to the locker room with an eight-point lead.
The same patterns held true in the second half. Florida State turnovers led to an early 9–0 BC run and a 7–0 run midway through the second half, which put the Eagles up 52–35. The final blow was a nearly three-minute scoring drought for the Seminoles, giving BC a 57–37 lead with nine minutes left to play.
“We wanted to take away their transition,” Grant said. “Fast-break points—they had 11, and most of those were in the first half.”
James Karnik and Quinten Post were also key in the win. They dominated offensively in the paint and on the glass all night, combining for 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 16 rebounds. Makai Ashton-Langford had an off shooting night with five points but dished out a game-high nine assists.
“I think not growing weary means you’re not too far away from success,” Grant said. “If you just keep swinging and chopping and staying the course, something good is coming.”
Featured Image by Nicole Wei / Heights Staff
