Boston College Upsets No. 18 Virginia

Jared Hamilton hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 37 seconds left and added a pair of free throws to clinch it as Boston College beat No. 18 Virginia 60-53.

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — Jared Hamilton hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 37 seconds left and added a pair of free throws to clinch it as Boston College beat No. 18 Virginia 60-53 on Tuesday night and sent the defending national champions to their first Atlantic Coast Conference loss of the season.

Jay Heath scored 17 for the Eagles (9-6, 3-1), who had not beaten Virginia since 2013. It was BC's first win over a ranked team since a victory over No. 11 Florida State last January.

Braxton Key scored 16 points with eight rebounds for the Cavaliers (11-3, 3-1), who have now lost two of their last four games.

A 10 1/2-point underdog coming off a 39-point loss to Duke, BC scored eight of the first 10 points in the game and still led 42-30 with 14 minutes left before Virginia ran off 10 points in a row to cut the deficit to two points. With about seven minutes left, Key missed a layup and Mamadi Diakite slapped the rebound out to the top of the key, where Kihei Clark hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 45-all.

Diakite followed with a three-point play to give Virginia its first lead since the opening basket of the game. Clark scored seven points during the 20-3 run, while BC was held to just one basket over almost nine minutes.

BC took a 53-51 lead with just over two minutes left, but Key scored from underneath to tie it. Hamilton scored from in front of the Eagles bench to put them ahead, then leaned back into the embrace of his teammates to celebrate.

EARLY STRUGGLES

The Cavaliers committed four fouls in the first 67 seconds, and Diakite went to the bench with two. The biggest man in Virginia's starting lineup - and the only one listed as a forward, along with four guards - played just 4:36 in the first half, with two points and two rebounds.

After making its first shot, Virginia missed the next seven, and it was still just 8-2 with almost six minutes gone.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia: After climbing as high as No. 5 in the AP Top 25, the Cavaliers have now lost to South Carolina and Boston College in the last two weeks. They have lost as many games as they did all of last season.

Boston College: The Eagles are usually good for one big upset a year at home. So far under coach Jim Christian, they haven't been able to build on it.

UP NEXT

Virginia: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday.

Boston College: Host Georgia Tech on Saturday.