Boston College Basketball: BC Survives Against D II Bentley 85-75

In an age where David versus Goliath narrative is used ad nauseam, it is hard to find a game worthy of the moniker.

On Thursday night at Conte Forum, David did not slay Goliath, but certainly gave him one heluva fight.

Division II Bentley led at multiple points in the second half against Boston College, but ultimately the Eagles pulled away and went on to win 85-75 in front of a sparsely populated Conte Forum crowd.

The survival of the Eagles can be attributed to one Eli Carter, a transfer graduate student from Florida. Carter scored 33 points, easily the highest point total of any of his teammates. With the departure of Olivier Hanlan to the NBA draft, the Eagles appear to have a solid replacement to make up for Hanlan's departing 19.5 points per game.

For the Eagles, Carter's 33 points mark one of only a few bright spots for the game. The Eagles, compared to the Bentley Falcons, have a noticeable size advantage. Yet in the first half players like 7-0 Dennis Clifford were bullied off the ball by players seven inches shorter than him. Clifford was not alone. Closing out of the first half, the Eagles were out rebounded 21-12. As for the score, the Eagles needed Carter to drain a shot to bring a lead into the locker room. Fortunately for the Eagles, Carter did drain the shot, and the Eagles were able to bring a lead into the locker room.

The second half was marked by the lead whipsawing all throughout the first half of the second half. The Eagles struggled to put the Falcons away, as the Falcons always seemed to answer any basket that the Eagles made. It culminated in a 61-61 tie on a Keegan Hyland jumper with 11:32 left. Garland Owens would respond with a layup of his own, and the Eagles would never look back.

The Eagles open up their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 14 against St. Francis of Brooklyn.