CHESTNUT HILL – Boston College’s recent run of success at home bolstered by a supportive fan base was not enough to upset the No. 17 ranked team in the country.
Virginia snapped the Eagles’ two-game ACC home win streak with a 73-66 victory on Saturday afternoon at Conte Forum before a vibrant house that included coach Bill O’Brien and the BC football team.
BC fell to 9-12 overall, 2-6 in the ACC and will resume conference play on Tuesday night at Duke. The Cavaliers improved to 18-3 and 6-3.
“I thought our guys played hard and I thought we had a good plan in place and executed the plan really well,” said BC coach Earl Grant. “We were very stingy on defense and shared the ball offense but in the second half we couldn’t sustain it and some of that had to do with Virginia.
“We got better. We didn’t win but we got better and we have to learn from it and try to get ready for the next game. Great crowd. Great energy in the building and we have to learn from this game and get ready for the next one.”
BC shot 41.7% from the floor but were a dismal 3of-13 from behind the arc with 33 rebounds and 12 assists. Guard Donald Hand Jr. led BC with 20 points and six rebounds while his backcourt mate, Fred Payne, netted 17.
The Cavaliers shot 43.8% from the floor and were equally dismal from downtown, hitting just 4-of-23 with 39 rebounds and nine assists. Forward Thijs De Ridder paced the Cavs with 17 points and five rebounds. The overwhelming stat in Virginia’s possession was a 28-1 advantage in bench points.
“We have good players that start, we have good players that come off the bench,” said Virginia coach Ryan Odom. “It is not easy winning on the road and it doesn’t matter what league you are in.
“They are tough to score on, they really are and they have guards that can get to the basket and bigs with skills. They gave us everything we could handle.”
BC’s five-point lead at the break was gone by the first media timeout of the second half. Cav’s Senior guard Malik Thomas tied the game 38-38 with a layup with 16:15 to play. Virginia took its first lead, 41-38 when junior guard Sam Lewis completed a 3-point play with 15:31 on the board.
Virginia had a run going when Thomas put the Cav’s up 50-43 on a slick reverse layup from the baseline. But the Eagles rallied with six unanswered points, four by Hand, to cut the lead to 50-49 at the second media timeout.
BC went back up 52-50 when Jyden Hastings (12 points, six rebounds) converted a 3-point play with 11:01 on the clock. Eagles’ repeated failures at the free throw line (15-of-26) led to their demise in the final minutes of the game.
Thomas began the Cavs’ decisive run with a sweet fadeaway jumper and two from the line that made it 64-60 with 4:54 to play. Virginia closed the deal when 7-foot center Ugonna Onyenso’s dunk made it 72-64 with 52 seconds to play.
“They really did a good job trying to wear our guards down,” said Grant. “As the guts of the game approached with nine minutes to go, I thought we took some shots and they forced us into some tough ones.
“And there was our one-on-one defense, we needed some stops and we didn’t get them.
BC started strong on both ends and led 10-9 at the first media timeout courtesy of a rare four-point play by Payne. The Cavs tied the game 12-12 at 14:51 when guard Jacari White buried a trey from the right of the key.
Virginia was unable to take its first lead because junior center Boden Kapke established an offensive presence in the low post with nine straight BC points. Kapke drained two inside floaters, a jump hook, and a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give BC a 23-17 lead with 8:45 to play.
“He (Kapke) is doing well and he got better,” said Grant. “I think he still has a lot more room to grow and become the player he needs to become.
“He has defended, he has rebounded and he is an inside outside threat and that makes him a hard match up.”
BC managed to maintain its advantage and took a 30-25 lead into the final media timeout with 1:58 remaining. Hand had the final say of the frame with a transition layup to give BC a 32-27 lead at the intermission.
