Boston College: Last Second Half Surge Falls Short vs. Saint Louis, 64-54

Read Time:2 Minute, 29 Second

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Despite a late second-half push, Boston College fell, 64-54, to Saint Louis in the Showcase game of the Gotham Classic on Wednesday afternoon.

With the Eagles holding a two-point lead – 26-24 – at the break, SLU broke the game open with a 33-9 run through the first 14:10 of the second half. The Billikens held as much s a 20-point lead after a Hasahn French dunk made it 57-37 with 5:07 to play.

BC would counter with a 17-3 run over the next 3:43, capped by a Chris Herren Jr. 3-pointer, which cut it to a two-possession ballgame at 60-54 with 57 ticks remaining. But that was as close as the Eagles would get.

Boston College would start the game strong, holding a 10-1 lead less than six minutes in. A Nik Popovic dunk gave the Eagles a 10-point lead – 16-6 – with 12:20 left in the half. SLU would use an 18-8 run over the next 10:21 as the Eagles went flat offensively, tying it at 24-24 with just over a minute to play in the half.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

Derryck Thornton led the Eagles with 18 points. He added seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 39 minutes of play.
Nik Popovic added 15 points, eight boards, two steals, a blocked shot, and an assist.
Chris Herren Jr. scored a season-high eight points in 24 minutes of action. He knocked down 2-of-3 from beyond the arc while tallying three boards and two steals.
Jairus Hamilton returned to action after missing the last six games for BC. He had eight points, two rebounds, and an assist.
Jay Heath missed the game due to illness. Classmate Julian Rishwain replaced him in the starting lineup.
Steffon Mitchell grabbed eight rebounds in 20 foul-plagued minutes.
The Eagles shot 35.2% from the floor (19-54), including 6-of-18 from beyond the arc.
SLU was only slightly better, connecting on 35.9% (23-64).
The Billikens outrebounded BC, 49-37 – including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass.
SLU held a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points.

STAT OF THE GAME:

9 – Boston College dished out a season-low nine assists.

FOR THE ANALYTICS CROWD:

Two players – Derryck Thornton and Nik Popovic – managed double-digit efficiency marks
Both players registered an EFF of 17.
Efficiency rating is calculated using the following formula: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK – Missed Shots – TO)

UP NEXT:

Boston College closes out the month of November with a true road matchup at Richmond.
Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and the game will air live on the NBC Sports Network. Ryan Burr and Ron Thompson have the call.
The game can also be heard live on the Boston College Learfield IMG College Sports Network with Josh Maurer and Danya Abrams on WEEI 850 AM.