No. 4 Cavs rout Eagles
Slam door shut in second half
Boston College still is searching for its identity in a season that’s been decimated by injuries, but even if the Eagles were at full strength against No. 4 Virginia, it might not have mattered.
VIRGINIA 83 BOSTON COLLEGE 56
BC, shorthanded again, was no match against a national championship contender.
Nik Popovic led the Eagles with 16 points, but it was not nearly enough as the Cavaliers dominated on defense and ran away with a 83-56 blowout victory Wednesday night at Conte Forum.
BC freshman standout Wynston Tabbs returned after missing a game with a leg injury, but the Eagles were without Steffon Mitchell, who is day to day with a recurring quad injury, and it showed.
Virginia (14-0, 2-0 ACC) easily handled BC to remain as one of just two unbeaten teams remaining in college basketball (Michigan). The Eagles (9-5, 0-2) lost their third straight in a season that quickly needs some kind of spark.
BC trailed by 12 at halftime and looked to have some life early in the second half when Popovic’s 3 with 16:34 remaining made it a sixpoint game, but the Eagles could never sustain any momentum.
Certainly not against what’s consistently become the best defense in the country.
After a Popovic layup made it 48-41 with 15:06 to go, the Virginia defense went to work. The Cavaliers went on a 16-0 run, and forced the Eagles into a scoring drought of more than seven minutes to put the game away.
Bowman’s 3 made it 62-44 with 7:49 to go mercifully ended the drought at 7:21, and BC didn’t have a chance to recover from that.
The Cavaliers didn’t let off the gas either, and Jay Huff ’s dunk with 2:28 to go gave them their largest lead of the night at 30. A loud chant of “Let’s go Wahoos” erupted at the next timeout as BC was embarrassed on its home floor.
Bowman had 15 points for the Eagles. Tabbs had just nine points in his return, and Jordan Chatman scored just seven on 3 for 12 shooting.
Without Mitchell, Virginia exposed BC’s frontline. The Eagles had no answer for Mamadi Diakite, who scored 14 first-half points as the Cavaliers opened up a commanding lead.
BC played well early as it opened up a 13-11 lead behind three early 3-pointers — two from Bowman and another from Chatman — but UVA locked down defensively.