National Basketball Association
Virginia 61, Boston College 47
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Virginia
Officials:
# Sean Hull, # Tim Kelly, # Tim Nestor
Attendance:
14310
By The Sports Xchange
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- To say Boston College has been outmanned this season might be an understatement.
In eight Atlantic Coast Conference games so far this season entering their matchup with Virginia, the Eagles had been outscored by an average of 21 points per game and had yet to post a conference win.
That trend continued Wednesday night as No. 9 Virginia got 27 points from senior guard Malcolm Brogdon in a 61-47 dismantling of Boston College in an ACC game at John Paul Jones Arena.
"I think our first-half defense was really solid," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "Malcolm really carried us offensively. He had a real fine game, so that was good."
Brogdon scored 20 or more points for the 11th time this season and was one point from tying a career high.
The Virginia defense stifled their opposition for the second straight game, holding Boston College to 27 percent shooting from the field and forcing 11 turnovers. The Cavaliers also outrebounded the Eagles 37-29.
"I told our guys, Boston College is short-handed, but they run their offense with pace," Bennett said. "I remember that from last year and they run really hard cuts. I'll be curious to watch the film to see if we were there on defense and if we bothered enough shots."
The Cavaliers have now held back-to-back opponents below 40 percent shooting from the floor for the first time this season.
"Virginia is just so ball conscious on defense," Boston College coach Jim Christian said. "We just couldn't make any shots. Credit to (Virginia), they're obviously a great defensive team."
Virginia (18-4, 7-3 ACC) used a 12-2 burst early in the second half to gain momentum and take the game over, pulling away from overmatched Boston College (7-15, 0-9).
“They (Virginia) do what they do extremely well. You almost have to use their soundness against them," Christian said. "To get the shots that you want, you just have to try new things. They aren't going to adjust their defense just because a guy hits a couple of 3s."
The Eagles got just six points in the paint in the game as they took 26 of their 49 shots from beyond the arc.
"I'm very happy for our guys. I thought we competed for 40 minutes," Christian said. "We just were real cold and we couldn't make shots. We executed what we wanted to execute, but we just couldn't make shots."
Forward Anthony Gill had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Virginia. No other player scored in double figures.
The Cavaliers shot 40 percent from the field for the game, below their season average of 50 percent, but made nine 3-pointers. Virginia was also solid at the free throw line, connecting 18 of 22, including 8 of 8 by Brogdon.
Boston College got a team-high 14 points from guard Sammy Barnes-Thompkins but little production form the rest of the team. Leading scorer Eli Carter was held to seven points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field.
"We did a really good job of eliminating Carter," Bennett said of his team's defense. "He can really get it going and I thought we were pretty good in our position."
After a 5-0 Virginia run to start the game, the Cavaliers extended their lead to seven at 14-7 with 13:42 to play in the first half.
Boston College didn't go away. The Eagles used a quick 8-2 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers to close within one at 16-15 with less than nine minutes to play.
Virginia led 29-20 at halftime.
Brogdon paced the Cavaliers with 17 first-half points on 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line.
Boston College was led by Barnes-Thompkins' 12 first-half points. The Eagles shot just 28 percent from the field in the opening half but made five 3-pointers.
NOTES: Virginia has won 16 straight games at home and is 11-0 this season on its home floor. ... Boston College is winless on the road this season. ... Graduate student Eli Carter is averaging 17.3 points per game this season to lead Boston College and is the only Eagles player in double figures. ... Virginia has three players averaging double figures, led by senior G Malcolm Brogdon at 17.3 points per game. ... Virginia shot a season-high 57 percent from the field in its 63-47 win over Louisville on Saturday.
Top Game Performances
| Boston College |
|
Virginia |
|
Sammy Barnes-Thompkins 14 |
Scoring |
Malcolm Brogdon 27 |
|
A.J. Turner 3 |
Assists |
London Perrantes 4 |
|
Eli Carter 6 |
Rebounds |
Anthony Gill 11 |
|
Garland Owens 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Malcolm Brogdon 8 |
|
Sammy Barnes-Thompkins 1 |
Steals |
Isaiah Wilkins 4 |
|
Ervin Meznieks 1 |
Blocks |
Darius Thompson 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Boston College
|
47 |
26.5 |
8-26 |
13-18 |
8 |
29 |
1 |
6 |
11 |
| Virginia
|
61 |
40.5 |
9-18 |
18-22 |
10 |
35 |
2 |
8 |
13 |
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