Virginia 66, Boston College 51: Strong Second Half Propels Unbeaten Cavaliers Over Eagles

Moral victories ring hollow, especially when Boston College remains winless in conference play. But the Eagles put their best foot forward on Saturday afternoon hosting the #2-ranked and undefeated Virginia Cavaliers. Ultimately, BC's strong first-half effort wasn't enough as the Eagles fell to Virginia, 66-51.

Despite the setback, a few things to like about this one. The team played great defense for most of the game, limiting UVA's leading scorer Justin Anderson to 8 points despite shooting 0-for-8 from the floor (8-of-9 from the FT line). The offense created opportunities at the free throw line against Virginia's stout defense, and Olivier Hanlan and Patrick Heckmann provided a big spark on offense. Heckmann, in particular, caught fire early in the second half, scoring 7 of the Eagles' first 10 points as BC build a five-point lead with 15 to play. But a 10-0 run would put Virginia back up by five, and a 26-10 second-half run would put the game out of reach.

Finally, the crowd was dece and into the game. It actually felt like a legitimate college basketball game atmosphere! Hopefully that can carry over to the rest of the home schedule as the Eagles host several top 25 ranked teams on the Heights the rest of the way.

Second chance opportunities killed BC as Virginia out-rebounded BC 13-4 on the offensive glass (35-20 overall) that led to some easy put backs. The Eagles also saw poor shooting performances from Aaron Brown and Dimitri Batten, a combined 1-of-11 from the floor (Brown was 0-6 from the floor, 0-4 from three).

The Eagles fall to 8-8 and 0-4 ACC on the year. Virginia improves to 17-0 and 5-0 in conference.

Quick turnaround for the Eagles, who are back at it on Tuesday night as they travel to the Carrier Dome to take on the Syracuse Orange. Six #OrangeEagle points on the line.

Three up / three down tomorrow. For now, leave your thoughts on the game below. Go Eagles!