Boston College bounced back and handled business today against Central Connecticut, winning the game 82 to 68. The Eagles brought the energy tonight even though they weren’t at full strength, as their second leading scorer, Claudell Harris, Jr., was ruled out after suffering a leg injury in the first half of the NC State game this past weekend. They held a comfortable 20 plus point lead for the entirety of the game.
The Eagles led at the break 49-23 after another great first half. They did a phenomenal job of playing through Quinten Post. The Center demands so much attention which helped spread the floor and in turn spread out the scoring. Mason Madsen finished the first half with 13 points, Post and Zackery both had 11, and McGlockton and Hand had 5. A Tuesday night game against Central Connecticut would have been a trap game for the Eagles in prior years, but tonight, Earl Grant had the team prepared. These mid-week games can be hard for Power 5 teams, especially after a tough, overtime loss like the Eagles sustained this weekend against NC State.
BC did a great job tonight not letting Central Connecticut back into the game. Against Vanderbilt and Loyola, the Eagles seemed to get complacent and couldn’t put the final nail in the coffin. Tonight, as soon as the Eagles came back from halftime, they never gave the Blue Devils a chance. Post played like a First-Team All-ACC caliber talent tonight finishing with 13 points on only 7 shots while adding 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Zackery added a great game of his own with a stat line of 11 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds. The true bright spots in this game were Mason Madsen and Donald Hand, Jr. Madsen scored 15 points and Hand added 16.
Injuries happen throughout a season, so it was important for the bench to show they can step up when one of the team’s leading scorers goes down. I know Central Connecticut is not a Power 5 team, however, Madsen and Hand both stepped up and made sure this game would not be a blemish on the Eagles resume come March (that’s right, I’m talking March already). Boston College played a great game of basketball tonight. They played great defense, passed the ball extremely well, and knocked down shots. They also showed that they can play competently against a zone defense, if needed. Hopefully, Harris’s injury isn’t too serious, and he will back soon.
The Eagles will be back at Conte Forum on Friday night as they take on Holy Cross at 7 PM EST.