Something had to change for the Boston College men’s basketball team Wednesday night. The Eagles trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half against LSU and was staring down a 12-point deficit in the early minutes of the second half.
After graduate student Chase Forte picked up his third foul at the 18-minute mark, head coach Earl Grant subbed in sophomore Luka Toews to handle the point guard duties.
Coming into the game, the second-year guard’s playing time had been erratic, playing as much as 20 minutes versus Hampton, and five against Tulane.
With his team needing a spark against the Tigers, Toews decided to make the most of his opportunity.
Seeing the paint filled with big LSU bodies, he utilized the space on the outside to find open shots. Thanks to a transition 3-pointer and a pair of mid-range jumpers, Toews fueled a 12-0 run for the Eagles to tie the game at 45.
After the media timeout, the Tigers looked to pull away again, grabbing two quick buckets to go up 49-45. This time it was another young reserve who prevented things from getting out of hand.
On a missed jumper from Toews, Boden Kapke grabbed the offensive rebound and found freshman Caleb Steger in the corner for an open 3. The guard knocked down his third triple of the day to keep it a one-point game.
In a game that BC needed to be at its best, Grant decided to roll with the hot hands as Toews and Steger set career-highs in minutes while combining for 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting. The rest of the Eagles squad shot 30%.
Though the team lost 78-69 in overtime, the young duo’s shooting stood out.
Grant has relied on his veterans to start the season, using the same lineup in every game so far. Boston College’s top six rotation players are all redshirt sophomores and older.
But after seeing his team lose its third overtime game of the season, the fifth-year coach didn’t rule out extending his bench.
“Maybe that’s why at the end we run out of gas,” Grant said. ”Guys are playing too many minutes. We have been going with the older guys, but we probably have to trust the younger guys a little more as the team continues to develop.”
At 4-5, the Eagles need wins. If that means giving young players like Toews and Steger more minutes, then so be it.
In the final seconds of regulation, it was Toews who had the ball in his hands. Though his 3 at the buzzer was short, his shooting and calmness with the ball left an impression on the team.
“It’s a journey. He’s getting what he deserved,” Grant said. “It’s no secret. Chase Forte had four fouls, so Luka got more opportunities and seized on it. He played good basketball. I think he and Caleb will have a chance to grow their roles.”
Thanks to the 27 minutes against LSU, Toews has a pair of 20-minute games after having zero last season. He’s nearly doubled his playing time from 8.6 minutes a game to 15.6.
“He’s a good player. He’s young, but he’s talented. He’s growing. He is growing his belief in the system, in himself. His teammates believe in him. Hopefully he can build on what he did tonight,” Grant said.
For Steger, it was the second straight game the freshman has rewarded Grant’s trust. After beginning the season shooting 3-for-14, Steger is 6-for-9 in his last two games, hitting a trio of 3s in each contest.
Though he played just eight minutes against Harvard, his shooting performance helped BC pull away in the second half.
“He’s a game-changer. We see it a lot in practice,” Grant said. “He was faithful with the eight minutes he got. So any time you are faithful with little time you get, the more that will be added onto you.”
Grant was good on his word, extending Steger to 18 minutes, allowing him to score a career-high 11 points.
“It’s hard to play young guys as much as you would like,” he said. “He’s had 2-3 games back-to-back where he’s played good basketball. So trying to give him more minutes. Trying to grow him up. Maybe quicker than he needs to grow up.”
It’s been a tough shooting year for BC. Through nine games, the team is last in the ACC in shooting at 40.3% and from 3-point range at 28%. If Grant wants to see those numbers improve, giving more minutes to Toews, shooting 50% from the field, and Steger, shooting 38.1% from 3, isn’t the worst place to start.
