Boston College MBB: Gritty Eagles Exit Virginia Tech with 77-73 OT Win

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BLACKSBURG, Va. — Boston College erased a 12-point first-half deficit and outscored Virginia Tech, 44-35, over the second half and overtime periods in a 77-73 win at Cassell Coliseum on Saturday.

Steffon Mitchell put forth his best game in a Boston College uniform, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal in 43 minutes of play. The 21 points and 15 boards tie his career-highs.

The Eagles and Hokies played virtually even through the first 4:35 of play, with VT holding a 9-8 lead early on. A 13-0 run pushed the Virginia Tech lead to as many as 12 – 22-10 – with 11:38 left in the half.

BC made four of its next five and connected on back-to-back 3-pointers from Nik Popovic and Jay Heath to start a 7-0 run. The Eagles ramped up their defensive pressure, cutting it to 31-28 with 3:38 left in the period, holding the Hokies without a field goal for the next four-plus minutes. Tech led, 38-33, at the break.

BC got within one – 40-39 – with 17:36 left before Virginia Tech scored five straight over the next two minutes to push it back to a six-point deficit. But the Eagles pushed right back, scoring the next 12 points. A Thornton 3-pointer started the run, Jay Heath knocked down two triples and a free throw, and Jairus Hamilton scored in transition to put BC up six – 51-45 – with 11:45 to go.

Kamari Williams drilled a 3-pointer for the shorthanded Eagles with just under 10 minutes to go in regulation, making it 56-51. The Hokies’ 8-2 push over the next five and a half minutes put them back up one – 59-58 – with 4:30 left.

Another trey from Williams and a free throw from Jairus Hamilton put BC up four – 66-62 – with less than a minute to go. But a Virginia Tech layup with 40 seconds to go, a missed front-end by Thornton, and two made FT from the Hokies with four seconds remaining forced overtime.

In the extra frame, VT opened up a four-point lead – 70-66 – with 3:38 left, but BC chipped away at the free-throw line. Two from Mitchell with 2:22 to go, tied it at 70-70. VT’s Landers Nolley – who finished with a game-high 29 points – put the Hokies back up 73-70 after a deep 3-pointer with 2:02 to go. But the Eagles shut down Tech the rest of the way, sealing the victory with a Mitchell layup and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Jay Heath finished with 18 points (6-10 FG; 3-7 3FG; 3-4 FT), four boards, and four assists. Jairus Hamilton added 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists and Derryck Thornton had 10 points and two assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

Steffon Mitchell is the only player to post a stat line of 21 points/15 rebounds/6 assists/2 blocks/1 steal against a Division I opponent this season.
Over the last 25 seasons, there have been just 18 players who have posted at least that stat line in a game.
Jay Heath made his first four FG attempts, tying his season-best 18 points. The freshman guard knocked down 6-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Jairus Hamilton had 11 points, five boards, and three assists in 33 minutes of play.
The Eagles scored 17 points off the bench, led by Kamari Williams’ eight points. The freshman was 3-of-4 from the floor – including 2-of-3 from the perimeter.
Boston College shot 43.4% from the floor – including a season-high-tying 11 3-pointers.
The Eagles made 20-of-26 from the foul line – good for a 76.9%
The win gives BC six ACC wins – the most since 2017-18 – and moves the Eagles to 4-5 in true road games/5-5 in road/neutral contests.

STAT OF THE GAME:

7-2; 4-0 – Boston College is now 7-2 when Jay Heath scores 15 points or more and 4-0 when he scores 17 or more.

FOR THE ANALYTICS CROWD:

Steffon Mitchell posted an efficiency rating of 38 – the highest by a Boston College player this season and the best EFF mark of his career.
It was the highest EFF rating by a BC player since Ky Bowman’s 45 last season
Jay Heath posted a 20, while Jairus Hamilton had a 12 and Kamari Williams a nine.
Efficiency rating is calculated using the following formula: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK – Missed Shots – TO)

UP NEXT:

Boston College plays at Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in the lone regular-season meeting with the Hurricanes.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on regional sports networks around the country.
Evan Lepler and Mike Gminski have the broadcast 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.