Boston College played a fantastic basketball game tonight. The Eagles took a 3-0 lead after a Claudell Harris, Jr. jumper and never looked back. Harris played like the scorer BC fans hoped he would be before the season. He looked for his shot early and often shooting 9 of 13 from the field and finishing up with 22 points. Quinten Post was a man amongst boys tonight ending with a game high 24 points to beat out Harris. Although Vanderbilt won’t compete for an SEC championship this year, it is still fun to watch the Eagles play that well against a Power 5 team.
The Eagles played a phenomenal first half of basketball and were firing on all cylinders. Harris and Post beat Vanderbilt by themselves, combining for 28 points on 11 of 16 from the field compared to Vanderbilt’s 23. Post has played great so far this season, but Harris has still tried to find himself within the offense. Tonight, Harris looked incredibly comfortable and seemed to have found his role within the offense and within the team. Jaeden Zackery manned the point and set up Harris and Post throughout the entire first half.
The Eagles kept their foot on the gas and held a lead of 15 to 20 points for a majority of the second half. One small scare was an injury to Prince Aligbe at the 18 minute mark. He would return later in the second half and tack on 9 points. The Commodores showed signs of life periodically and gave BC fans flashbacks from last week when Loyola finished the game on a 14-2 run and won by 3. With 3 minutes left, Vanderbilt cut the lead to 11 with a Tasos Kamateros 3-pointer. But, it was too little too late, and the Eagles maintained control of the game.
Overall, Boston College looked great in every facet of the game. Zackery, who scored 10 points and dished out 8 assists, controlled the ball and the pace, Harris and Post both scored at will, and the Eagles secured their 5th win. Although last week was disappointing, tonight’s game should give BC fans hope heading into ACC play. If Harris can continue to help Post and Zackery score the basketball, the Eagles could surprise a lot of teams. One thing that needs to be cleaned up the rest of the season is finishing games. If Vanderbilt was able to make a few more shots coming down the stretch, this could’ve been a much more stressful ending.
Boston College will fly back to Chestnut Hill to take on NC State on Saturday, December, 2nd at 3 pm ET.