Boston College Defeats Wake Forest 77-70 In ACC Opener
Boston College got off on the right foot, downing ACC opponent Wake Forest 77-70. The Eagles looked strong on defense, forcing 17 turnovers on the Demon Deacons to just 7, compared to just one for BC. The Eagles were led by transfer Derryck Thornton who scored a career high 23 points in his first game as an Eagle. Nik Popovic also was a key contributor with 19 points and 3 rebounds
The game started off with Boston College jumping out to an early first half lead, built on by some stifling defense and poor Wake Forest shooting. Led by Nik Popovic who was very good on both sides of the court, BC took a commanding 42-27 lead at the half. The Eagles shot well, with contributions from a trio of freshmen, Jay Heath (18 points), CJ Felder (5 rebounds) and Julian Rishwain (3 steals), while Derryck Thornton showed that he can be a contributor on both ends of the floor as well.
The second half got a little dicier for the Eagles as Wake Forest switched up from mostly man to man to a zone defense, which caused some confusion for BC and allowed the Demon Deacons to storm back into the game and cut the lead to six. Wake Forest made the game dangerously close as Brandon Childress, who led the Deacons with 23 points and Isaiah Mucius with 16 points. But BC was able to hold on, with some clutch shooting and free throws from Nik Popovic, Thornton, and Heath who iced the game down the stretch.
What looked good? The team defense looks might tighter, the Eagles moved the ball much better than in years past. One big concern was BC's inability to put Wake Forest away. They had them on the ropes, and could not close the door until the very end. The biggest concern coming out of this game has to be the injury to Jarius Hamilton, a sophomore who began the game as a starter but went down with a leg injury in the first half and did not return.
BC Basketball returns on Saturday on the road against USF.
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