Boston College loses to NC State, 79-71

Boston College lost their second conference game to the NC State Wolfpack on Tuesday, falling 79 to 71.

Right out of the gate the Eagles looked uneasy. They missed six of their first seven shots and three turnovers in their first four possessions. NC State capitalized on the early takeaways and took an early 12-8 lead.

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Darrion Williams — arguably the Wolfpack’s best player, was super aggressive early. His shotmaking from both inside and deep forced the Eagles to change up defensively and double him early. The Wolfpack continued to assert their dominance and went on an 11-0 run, taking a 23-10 lead.

Turnovers plagued the Eagles in the first half as they struggled to open up offensively without one of their passes being swiped away. BC elected to drive inside and force contact where they did find success from Fred Payne as a scorer and playmaker. With 3:48 to go, NC State led 32-24.

The three’s began to fall for the Eagles as Fred Payne and Marko Radunovic connected on back to back jumpers. BC showed a lot of fight towards the end of the half and chipped away at the Wolfpack lead. NC State led 40-32 at halftime.

NC State opened the second half with a jumper by Alyn Breed. Boston College responded on their next two possession with a made three by Fred Payne and layup by Boden Kapke, cutting the lead to 5. For the next five minutes both teams keep trading baskets as neither team gained much of an edge or momentum swing. The score was 52-47 with 13:22 to go.

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Quadir Copeland began taking over for the Wolfpack as a facilitator. He found Terrance Arceneaux on a made three pointer and Darrion Williams on a layup, where NC State began to pull away. Despite the Wolfpack’s enhanced play, The Eagles fought hard with Jayden Hastings making an 11 foot hook shot and Donald Hand scoring a layup. By this point NC State led 67-59 with 4:17 left in the game.

NC State’s Darrion Williams had plans of his own as he drilled back to back three’s to eliminate any momentum left for Boston College. Paul McNeil Jr added a three of his own as the barrage began. Donald Hand Jr responded with a made three but at a point where the game was out of reach. The Wolfpack would go on to win the game with ease.

The Wolfpack’ secured their second conference victory of the season and 11th win overall. Darrion Williams led the team in scoring with 22 points on 8-18 shooting and four made three pointers. Terrance Arceneaux scored 12 points and was a perfect 3-3 from deep. Quadir Copeland scored eight points and dished out ten assists. They shot 48% overall from the field.

Boston College shot 51% in the game despite the loss. Fred Payne scored a new career high in points with 24 points. Donald Hand Jr scored 14 points and connected on three 3 pointers. Jayden Hastings added 7 points with 9 rebounds.

Up next, the Eagles will travel to Louisville on Saturday, January 10, Tip off is at 12:00 PM EST.