Eagles Stumble at Richmond on Strong Start to Second Half, 64-44

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RICHMOND, Va. — Boston College Eagles dropped a 64-44 decision at Richmond on Saturday afternoon. Jay Heath was the lone Eagle in double figures, with 14 points.

It was a game of runs in the first half, with three ties and six lead changes through the first 20 minutes. Richmond led by as many as five, coming out of the game with a 10-5 lead. BC would respond with a 10-0 run, capped by a Jay Heath 3-pointer, leading 15-10 with 11:56 left in the half.

Another 8-0 push by the Eagles, capped by a traditional 3-point play from Mitchell, gave BC its biggest lead of the game – 23-14 – with 4:40 to play. Richmond ripped off 11 unanswered, taking a 25-23 lead with a minute left. Jairus Hamilton’s 3-pointer on the final possession of the period gave BC a one-point advantage at the break.

A hot-shooting Spiders team pulled away in the second half, using a 23-2 run to turn the game around. Richmond shot over 60% from the floor during its second-half run and led by as many as 24 (58-34) with 4:49 to play.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

Jay Heath reached double figures for the sixth time in seven games. The freshman made 5-of-11 from the floor (3-7 3FG) to go along with four rebounds.
Steffon Mitchell led BC with nine rebounds – six coming on the offensive glass. He added five points, an assist, and a blocked shot.
Jairus Hamilton returned to the starting lineup and tallied eight points, three rebounds, and two steals in 23 minutes.
Derryck Thornton added seven points, six boards, and three assists.
BC shot 29.1% from the floor (16-55), including 7-of-28 from the perimeter.
The Eagles managed to win the battle of the boards, 39-36 – including a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass. BC had 10 second-chance points.

STAT OF THE GAME:

>30% – BC shot below 30% from the floor in a game for the first time since March 9, 2019, when it connected on 26.7% versus N.C. State.

FOR THE ANALYTICS CROWD:

Steffon Mitchell led BC with an efficiency rating of nine.
Jay Heath and CJ Felder each registered an EFF mark of eight.
Efficiency rating is calculated using the following formula: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK – Missed Shots – TO)

UP NEXT:

Boston College begins the month of December with a home game, hosting Northwestern on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The game is part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge presented by Continental Tires.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPNU. Jay Alters and Chris Spatola 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.