Boston College men’s basketball team opened the season at home on Monday night with a coalition of castoffs from the transfer portal, untested holdovers from a 20-win season, and high-end freshmen from faraway places.
The group found unity and purpose in training camp, a combination that bonded the sundry pieces into a cohesive unit and produced a hard fought, 69-60, victory over The Citadel before a crowd of 4,529 at Conte Forum.
“We’ve been scrimmaging a couple of times and trying to find a rhythm with so many new guys,” said BC head coach Earl Grant. “We needed to get to the game and play and half of the team never played in this building.
“We were happy to win the game and get that under our belt. Everything is a new learning experience and it’s pretty exciting, but we have to go through it and tonight was the start.”
Grant improved to 3-0 on opening night since migrating to The Heights from the College of Charleston. The Eagles bested Fairfield 89-70 in last season’s opener and downed The Citadel 75-71 in the first meeting between the two programs on Nov. 10 at McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C.
“I’m glad we are on the winning side of it,” said Grant. “But I can already see the plays that I need to watch on film and show the guys and try to be better.”
BC shot a pedestrian 38.9% from the floor but made 22 free throws, pulled down 43 boards with 10 assists. Guard Donald Hand Jr. and power forward Elijah Strong, both from the class of holdovers, fueled BC’s effort. Hand recorded a double-double with a career-high 22 points, 11 made free throws and 10 rebounds while Strong netted 11 with two boards. St. Bonaventure graduate transfer Chad Venning netted 15 with five boards.
“It felt good, and the guys showed real confidence in me,” said Hand. “Everybody played a great game, and it was a collective effort.”
Down 6-4 at the first media timeout, Strong scored nine hard points in the paint during a 14-5 run that made it 18-11 with 10:26 to play. BC went into a stretch of muffed scoring chances at the rim and poor rebounding on the defensive glass, but the Eagles managed to hold a 23-18 lead into the third media timeout on the floor. Clemson transfer Joshua Beadle put the brakes on a brief Bulldogs’ surge with a drive down the lane that put BC up 25-21 at the fourth media timeout.
Venning, a 6-9, 270-pound, power forward from Brooklyn, delighted the crowd with a monster dunk that made 29-25 with 1:31 to play. Vanning and Beadle combined for four points from the line while Strong made a layup to put BC up by 12. Bulldogs’ freshman guard Eze Wali beat the buzzer with a halfcourt heave to make 37-28 at the break.
“The chemistry felt great,” said Hand. “We have been practicing, but to get out there against an opponent with fans in the stands felt great.”
Venning opened the second half with a nifty jump hook, spawning a 6-0 spurt that made it 43-38 and prompted Bulldogs’ coach Ed Conroy to call timeout. Hand converted a 3-point play and dropped two free throws to put BC up 48-32 with 13:42 to play. Citadel cut the lead to 57-48 when John Adams converted a 3-point play with 8:04 on the clock.
