CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Seeking a sixth straight victory over Boston College, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team came up short 61-56 against the Eagles at Conte Forum on Saturday afternoon.
Looking for their 15th win of the season and second straight ACC victory, the Hokies (14-6, 5-4 ACC) had a setback on the road versus Boston College (10-10, 4-5). This was Tech's first loss in Chestnut Hill since 2013 and first loss to Boston College since 2015. The Hokies now sit at sixth place in the ACC standings.
Despite the loss, redshirt freshman Landers Nolley led the way for Tech with 15 points and was the team leader in points for the 13th time this season. Freshman Nahiem Alleyne added 10 points and guard Tyrece Radford grabbed nine rebounds.
The Eagles were paced by sophomore Jairus Hamilton, who recorded his career-high 23 points along with eight rebounds. Freshman Jay Heath added 15 points and grabbed six boards.
Boston College hit eight 3s against Tech, which is the most an opponent has recorded against the Hokies since VMI registered 13 on Dec. 21. Tech did outscore the Eagles 22-16 in paint points, although BC outrebounded Tech 36-34.
THE GAME
Trailing 10-8 at the 15-minute mark to begin the game, Tech ripped off a 14-2 run over a seven-minute span, punctuated by a 3-pointer by junior Wabissa Bede to put the Hokies up 10 – their biggest lead of the game (7:54 mark). But the Eagles chipped away at the deficit and cut it to a four-point game with a little over for minutes left.
Then the Hokies answered, with Alleyne and Landers Nolley each finished layups followed by Radford scoring in the paint giving the Hokies a 31-23 lead after the 6-2 run. The Eagles nailed a 3-pointer right before the half, making the score 31-26 with Tech on top going into halftime.
With just over 14 minutes to go in the game, Nolley hit a jumper and then finished a lay-in followed by a bucket from Bede to give Tech a cushion of 43-37 early in the second. With just under four minutes to go in the game, the Eagles' Hamilton drilled a jump shot, which would spark a 9-2 run, giving BC a 59-53 lead. Boston College led the rest of the way and won 61-56.
NOTES
-Nolley scored 15 points, marking his 18th game reaching double figures and eighth straight double figures scoring game.
- Alleyne scored 10 points against BC, which is his fourth straight game scoring in double digits. Alleyne also hit two triples and now has 10 3s over his last three contests.
- Tech's bench performed yet again contributing 32 points, which is the fifth time this season the bench has scored 30 or more points. The bench has also scored 20 or more points in 12 outings this season.
- The Eagles caused Tech to commit an uncharacteristic 14 turnovers as Tech came in averaging just 9.5 mistakes a game for the fewest in the nation.
- Bede collected a season-high four steals and tied his career high against Boston College. Bede also dished out five assists giving him 125 assists on the season with just 32 turnovers.
UP NEXT
Tech will stay on the road to face off against Miami (Fla.) (10-9, 2-7) on Tuesday, Jan. 28, in Coral Gables, Florida inside the Watsco Center.Gallery: (1/25/2020) 2020 MEN'S BASKETBALL at BOSTON COLLEGE