After Boston College’s road trip got off to a positive start, the improving Eagles will look to post another victory Wednesday when they visit Syracuse in Atlantic Coast Conference action.
BC (10-4, 1-2 ACC) has won five of its last six games, most recently a 95-87 triumph at Georgia Tech on Saturday in the opener of a three-game road swing. The Eagles matched their season high for points, thanks in large part to Devin McGlockton’s career-high 30 points and Claudell Harris Jr.’s 26.
McGlockton and Harris combined to shoot 20 of 25 from the field and 7 of 8 from 3-point range as part of the Eagles’ crisp 55.6 percent shooting effort from the floor, including 12 of 23 from long range.
“We just tightened up some screws on everything, and then the guys showed great character,” BC coach Earl Grant said. “Our ball movement wasn’t as good as it needed to be in the first half. … In the second half, we did a better job of really valuing the possession, moving the ball.”
The Orange (10-4, 1-2) were trending in the right direction as well before host Duke handed them an 86-66 defeat on Jan. 2. Syracuse’s five-game winning streak came to an end despite 26 points from Malik Brown and 18 from Judah Mintz.
The issues for Syracuse included an inability to get stops, as Duke shot 52.5 percent from the floor and 8 of 17 from 3-point land. The Orange’s 17 turnovers didn’t help matters either.
“Once they started getting out and getting easy buckets, we started turning the ball over, kind of getting crammed,” Syracuse guard Justin Taylor said. “That obviously hurt us.”
Aside from Mintz and JJ Starling (nine points), the other three starters for the Orange totaled three points on three free throws in 40 combined minutes. They’ll likely need an improved effort in order to beat the Eagles for the 11th straight time.
Last season, Syracuse posted a 14-point home victory and a nine-point road win.
–Field Level Media
