Eagles Drop 86-69 Decision to #6 Louisville at home

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Derryck Thornton scored a team-high 17 points, while Jay Heath added 16 as the Boston College Eagles dropped an 86-69 decision at home to #6/5 Louisville on Wednesday night.

Starting with a Jairus Hamilton jumper to open the game, BC came out of the gates firing. The Eagles made their first three field goal attempts and 6-of-9 to take a 16-13 lead five and a half minutes into the contest.

Thornton and Heath combined to make 4-of-6 from beyond the arc as BC led by nine – 25-16 – with 12:06 left in the game. Louisville would respond with a 14-2 run, including 11 unanswered points, to take a 31-29 lead with 7:29 to play in the period. The run would extend to 23-7 over a 6:03 span as the Cards led by seven – 39-32 – with 5:34 to go. The Eagles would use an 11-6 push over the final 4:09 to make it a two-point game at the break, 45-43.

BC went without a field goal for close to five minutes to start the second half, as UofL extended its lead to eight – 57-49 – with 15:14 to play in regulation. Twice the Eagles got within five after two Thornton free throws made it 67-62 with 8:35 to play. But the Cardinals’ 14-2 over the next 4:09 was the dagger.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

Thornton and Heath combined for 33 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
It was the highest combined scoring total for the Eagles’ starting backcourt since the duo combined for 35 points at Notre Dame on Dec. 7.
Jairus Hamilton added 13 points in 26 foul-plagued minutes. He is averaging 16.3 points per game over his last three outings.
Steffon Mitchell registered team-highs with nine rebounds and two steals. He also had six points and two assists on the night.
CJ Felder chipped in with six points, four boards, and a steal in 18 minutes.
For the game, BC shot 40.0% (24-60), including 7-of-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc. They were 14-of-22 from the foul line (63.6%).
The Eagles have dropped their last five meetings against top-five ranked opponents.
Louisville’s Jordan Nwora narrowly missed the Conte Forum opponent’s scoring record. The junior poured in 37 points on the night. The record – 39 points – is held by Connecticut’s Richard Hamilton on Jan. 6, 1999.

STAT OF THE GAME:

+4; +13 – BC outscored Louisville, 26-22, in points in the paint. The Eagles also held a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers.

FOR THE ANALYTICS CROWD:

Derryck Thornton and Steffon Mitchell led BC with an efficiency rating of 15.
Jay Heath also reached double-digits in EFF, posting an 11.
Efficiency rating is calculated using the following formula: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK – Missed Shots – TO)

UP NEXT:

Boston College travels to North Carolina for a game at the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday, February 1.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will air live on the ACC Network. Wes Durham and Jordan Cornette 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.