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BLACKSBURG, VA. – The Boston College Men’s Basketball team lost 85-79 to the Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday night.
The Hokies came out firing in the first half, jumping out to a 36-18 lead with only six minutes left in the half. In those last six minutes, though, Jordan Chatman erupted from behind the three-point arc, going 6-6 from three in the first half and finishing with 21 of BC’s 36 first-half points. Chatman was BC’s only source of offense for much of the game, and set a career high for points and 3-pointers made. His 9 threes also tie a BC record set by Dana Barros back in 1989. Chatman finished the game 10-12 from the field (9-11 from behind the arc).
The Hokies led 47-36 at the half.
In the second half, Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman came alive for BC, each finishing with 17 points, but only on a combined 12-33 from the field. Overall, Boston College shot 43% from the field, and even though they did outscore Virginia Tech in the second half, their cold start proved to be too much to make up for.
The Hokies did simmer down in the 2nd half but because of their hot start they ended the game shooting 59% from the field and 67% from three-point range. Seth Allen and Justin Bibbs both had 18, while Zach LeDay added 17 of his own. They’ve now won 5 games in the ACC and are 16-5 overall.
If the Eagles had managed to play better on offense in the first half and provide Chatman’s 3-point shooting with some support, they very well could have come out on top. Instead, Virginia Tech’s hot shooting and BC’s inclination to foul (VT went 21-30 from the line) led to the 6-point loss.
It was an entertaining game for both teams, but Virginia Tech going 12-18 from deep was the difference in who came out with the win.
Boston College has been keeping it close with ACC foes, but have now lost 5 straight games and sit at 9-13 overall.
The Eagles return to Conte Forum for a Tuesday night matchup with Wake Forest (12-9, 3-6).