Quinten Post scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, freshman Chas Kelley III poured in a career-high 17 points off the bench and Boston College beat Virginia Tech for the fifth straight time, winning 82-76 on Wednesday in Blacksburg, Va.
Devin McGlockton added 14 points for the Eagles (12-13, 6-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won for just the second time on the road this season. T.J. Bickerstaff chipped in seven points and eight rebounds while senior Makai Ashton-Langford dished out a career-best 12 assists.
Grant Basile supplied a season-high 33 points and four assists for the Hokies (14-10, 4-9), who fell to 11-3 at home this season. Justyn Mutts put up 16 points, while Sean Pedulla scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
Ashton-Langford’s crisp passing was contagious among a Boston College attack that kept the Hokies scrambling throughout the night en route to a season-high 24 assists. All but two of the Eagles’ helpers came without their assists leader, as Jaeden Zackery left the game just 7:53 in after injuring his shin when he collided with a Virginia Tech player.
The Eagles also buried a season-best 12 3-pointers, on 24 attempts, while the Hokies produced a 10-of-32 mark (31.3 percent) from deep.
Five of Boston College’s triples came in a 22-7 surge to finish the first half, giving the Eagles a 39-27 lead at the break. Their collective hot hand hung around for the first five minutes of the second period as Boston College went 6-for-7 from the floor to open up a 14-point lead.
Mutts’ layup shaved the Hokies’ deficit to eight with 12:02 to play, but Kelley got open on the right wing and silenced a sold-out crowd with his fourth triple on the ensuing possession.
The Hokies engineered a late 21-10 run to slice Boston College’s lead to four with 18 seconds remaining, but Kelley sank two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal it.
Virginia Tech made five of its first six shots in the game’s fast-paced opening minutes to race out to an 11-4 lead before the Eagles slowed the game down and began to settle in.
Following two free throws from Basile that pushed the Hokies’ lead to 20-17, the Eagles caught fire from beyond the arc and used triples from Kelley (two), Post (two)and Mason Madsen to engineer their surge before closing out the half on a Bickerstaff layup at the buzzer.
–Field Level Media