2024-25 is a brand new year for the Boston College basketball team. BC lost 88% of their scoring from last season, so tonight was about finding out how this new team would gel, and who would be able to put the ball in the basket.
The Eagles came out of the gates sloppy, which is expected for the season opener. There were some bad misses on the offense end, but some poor shooting from the Citadel allowed BC to keep a lead throughout the first half. The Citadel played a zone for much of the half which initially slowed the BC offense. Dion Brown, the UMBC transfer, Elijah Strong, and Donald Hand all hit 3s to bust the Citadel out of the zone. Toward the end of the half, Chad Venning drove by his defender and slammed one home to get the fans into the game. BC used the energy to go on a nice 9-0 run before the Citadel hit a 3 at the buzzer to go into halftime. The big boys in the front court led the scoring for the Eagles. Elijah Strong had 9 points on 4 of 5 from the field, and Chad Venning tacked on 8 points on 2 of 3 shooting. Newcomer, Josh Beadle, did a great job of getting to the basket and added 6 points. The Citadel shot just 37% from the field, and just 2 of 13 from 3, in the first half. This was a mix of first game jitters from the Citadel and good defense from BC. The Eagles turned up the intensity after the Venning dunk and forced a few turnovers on consecutive possessions to propel them to a 37-28 lead.
The first possession of the second half was a very clean one for BC. Hand got the ball right into Venning, and he turned over his left shoulder for a baby hook. It was obvious Earl Grant’s message at halftime was for BC to get the ball inside and use their size to score over the Citadel. BC soon abandoned that game plan and went back to an unorganized style of play. BC started to get sloppy with the basketball and let the Citadel back in the game. Brody Fox, a DIII transfer, started attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. Fox and Cameron Glover, a DII transfer, led the Citadel on the offensive side of the ball throughout the whole game. They kept the Citadel offense alive and within striking distance. BC couldn’t contain Fox and guard him without fouling. He got to the line at will, finishing 6 of 9 from the charity stripe and 18 points. The Eagles held the Citadel to just 3 of 24 from beyond the arc, yet allowed them to hang around. Boston College didn’t shoot well themselves from beyond the arc, just 5 of 18. Grant and company made enough plays down the stretch to win the game, 69-60.
Tonight was a sloppy game all around from both sides. The Eagles shot just 39% from the field, while the Citadel shot 38.5%. There were 27 total turnovers, and both teams looked very out of sorts for a majority of the game. Some of that is expected in the first game of the year, especially with a team of players coming from different levels and different teams. With that being said, there were a lot of DII and DIII transfers on that Citadel team that played meaningful minutes. That game should not have been that close. Now, I want to be positive, so I’ll talk about some highlights from the game. Elijah Strong looked good tonight scoring 11 points. He moved really well and made some very tough shots. He has definitely improved on the offensive end, and the Eagles will need him if they will compete this year in league play. Donald Hand had his first career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The transfers at guard are still searching for their role within the team, but I think we saw flashes from McFarlane, Beadle, and Brown. Beadle added 8 points, Brown had 5, and McFarlane had 6 points. Chad Venning was also impressive on the interior. He was a force inside and finished with 15 points.
Overall, this team is young and will continue to improve throughout the course of the season. A win is a win. The Eagles will take on VCU on Friday, November 8 at 6 Pm EST