Boston College Spoils Cole Anthony's Return With Important Road Win Over UNC 71-70
It was a big night at the Dean Smith Center, as phenom freshman guard Cole Anthony returned to the lineup for this first game since his knee surgery in mid-December. But he was overshadowed by the Eagles tonight, who defeated the Tar Heels 71-70 for their first win against UNC since 2010.
Cole Anthony was every bit as electric as Roy Williams could have hoped for, scoring 26 points in his first game back. It was an ugly first half as both teams combined for 20 turnovers. BC clearly was the better team all night, but their foul troubles kept the Tar Heels alive (UNC had 14 more free throws than BC).
BC built a lead in the second half, which grew as big as ten points. UNC stormed back though on free throws and a floater by Anthony that gave them the lead. However, Jared Hamilton was the hero, hitting two free throws to put the Eagles up with seconds remaining. Anthony had the opportunity to steal the win for UNC, but his last second three pointer came up short.
Boston College was led by Hamilton with 18 points tonight. He was the catalyst for most of the game, as he also gave Jim Christian's squad the lead going into halftime with a pair of free throws. He also gave a lift to the Eagles from beyond the arc shooting 3/6 from three point range. Jay Heath scored 12 points, while Derryck Thornton dropped 15.
In an evenly matched game it was BC's tenacious defense that was the biggest factor. Hamilton was lights out as a defender, while Nik Popovic had four steals in the game. BC held UNC to just 36% shooting, and stifled the Tar Heels who only shot 21% from beyond the arc. Certainly this was not the type of offensive performance UNC was hoping for, especially with Cole Anthony returning.
This was a huge win for the Eagles, as they earned their fifth ACC win of the year matching their total last season. Currently they are ninth in the conference, but they have huge rematches coming up at home against Duke and against Virginia Tech on Saturday in Blacksburg. A win in one of these games would firmly put them in the top half of the conference, and improve their rankings going into the ACC Tournament.
Editor and publisher of BC Bulletin. '06 graduate of Boston College, who has followed the program as long as he can remember. Has been covering the Eagles for the past nine years, giving expert analysis, recruiting news and breakdowns. Also the host of Locked on Boston College, a daily BC podcast that is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. When he is not writing or producing content on the Eagles, he can be found running, skiing, enjoying craft beers, or spending time with his family. You can follow AJ Black on Twitter @AJBlack_BC and our official site Twitter account is @BulletinBC