Boston College extends Earl Grant through 2028-29 season

Associated PressMar 21, 2023, 11:58 PM EDT

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON – Boston College coach Earl Grant has agreed to a two-year extension that will keep him under contract through the 2028-29 season.

Grant took over as Eagles coach prior to the 2021-22 season and finished 13-20. Boston College went 16-17 this past season, but it had three wins over nationally ranked teams for the first time in 14 years.

“My family and I have enjoyed being a part of this amazing community,” Grant said in a statement. “Boston is a great city and we are glad to call it our home. I am thankful for the efforts of my staff to help move the program forward.”

The Eagles finished 9-11 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, their most wins in the league play since 2010-11. Quinten Post also became the first Boston College player to be named Most Improved Player.

In announcing the extension, athletic director Blake James expressed optimism about the direction of the program.

“Earl has done an outstanding job leading our men’s basketball program over the last two seasons and we are looking forward to him doing so for many years to come,” James said.

North Carolina beats BC 85-61, keeps NCAA hopes alive

Associated PressMar 8, 2023, 11:56 PM EST

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Caleb Love scored 22 points, RJ Davis hit four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points and North Carolina kept alive its NCAA Tournament hopes with a 85-61 win over Boston College Wednesday night in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

Armando Bacot had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes for No. 7 seed North Carolina (20-12). The 6-foot-11 senior left the game with about five minutes left in the first half due to an apparent ankle injury. He started the second half before returning to the bench for good with 14:27 to play and the Tar Heels leading 58-31.

Bacot, Love and Davis scored eight points apiece in a 29-12 first-half run that gave the Tar Heels a 33-16 lead with 7:45 left before intermission and Boston College trailed by double figures the rest of the way.

Makai Ashton-Langford scored 16 points, Jaeden Zackery added 15 and Quinten Post 13 for 10th-seeded Boston College (16-17).

UNC hit 10 3-pointers, shot 55% (34 of 62) from the field and committed just seven turnovers.

North Carolina, which lost 72-69 to Kanas in the 2022 national championship game and was ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, is likely in need of an ACC championship – or at least an appearance in the title game – to earn a tourney bid. The Tar Heels have won four of their last five games.

UP NEXT

Boston College is likely done for the season

North Carolina plays No. 2 seed Virginia in the quarterfinals Thursday. UNC split the season series with the Cavaliers with each team winning on its home court.

Miles, Citron lead No. 9 Irish past Boston College 72-59

Associated PressFeb 2, 2023, 10:22 PM EST

Erica Denhoff/Getty Images

BOSTON — Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron had already scored 10 straight points to put away Boston College when they turned their attention to other things.

“I told Sonia I needed two more assists for the double-double. And she was like, `All right, I’ve got you,”‘ Miles said after helping No. 9 Notre Dame beat BC 72-59 on Thursday night.

“That’s just kind of our communication on the court,” said Miles, who found Citron for baskets on the next two Irish possessions to complete a 14-0 run – with all 14 points from Miles and Citron. “We just really play off each other really well.

Miles scored 22 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Citron scored 23 for the Irish (18-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Maria Gakdeng scored 16 points, T’Yana Todd had 13 and Andrea Daly scored 10 with eight rebounds for BC (14-11, 4-8). The Irish beat BC at home 85-48 on New Year’s Day but hadn’t won in Chestnut Hill since 2019.

“This is such a tough place to play,” said Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey, whose team faces No. 16 Duke next. “We’ll celebrate it until about 12:30, and then we’ve got film. Tomorrow we start focusing on Duke.”

BC came within five points, 55-50, before the Irish ran off 14 points in a row – nine by Citron, and five by Miles. That put an end to what had been a back-and-forth game in which the Irish opened big leads and then frittered them away.

“I always feel like we’re close,” BC coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “They’re young; I think consistency comes with experience.

“I think it’s a big improvement from the first time we played Notre Dame,” she said. “I still want to see more, and I want to see us grow up as fast as humanly possible because I think we do have a dangerous team when we going well.”

Notre Dame led by 11 in the first quarter and held a 38-30 lead with two minutes gone in the third. BC scored 13 of the next 18 points, capitalizing on back-to-back Irish turnovers to tie it 43-all with three minutes left in the quarter.

But Natalija Marshall put back the rebound of her own miss, Miles drove to the basket, Maddy Westbeld added a pair of baskets and then Miles stole the ball and found Citron on the fast break to make it 53-43.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame bounced back from their first league loss of the season, a 69-65 defeat at North Carolina State on Sunday. Now they face No. 16 Duke.

The Eagles, who beat Pittsburgh on Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak, were looking for their second victory over a Top 25 team this season, having also beaten then-No. 10 N.C. State on Jan. 5.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: Hosts No. 16 Duke on Sunday.

Boston College: Visits Syracuse on Sunday.

BC beats No. 20 Clemson 62-54; Tigers fall into ACC tie

Associated PressFeb 1, 2023, 12:32 AM EST

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — Makai Ashton-Langford had two key driving baskets in the closing two minutes and finished with 15 points to help Boston College beat No. 20 Clemson 62-54 on Tuesday night.

Jaeden Zackery added 13 points for the Eagles (11-12, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). BC held Clemson to one field goal — and that came with 18 seconds left — in the final 13:16.

Hunter Tyson led Clemson (18-5, 10-2) with 22 points and Chase Hunter had 12. The Tigers fell into a first-place tie atop the ACC with No. 6 Virginia.

The Eagles used a 5-0 spurt — with T.J. Bickerstaff hitting a free throw and getting a driving layup — to pull ahead 50-45 with just over five minutes to play.

Clemson sliced it to 50-47 before Aston-Langford made his two big baskets. He followed that by making two free throws with 32 seconds left.

Trailing by 10 midway into the second half, the Tigers went on a 10-0 spree, tying it at 45 when RJ Godfrey hit both ends of a 1-and-1.

The Eagles had opened a double-digit lead twice in the opening six minutes of the second half, the later 45-35 on Prince Aligbe’s foul-line jumper with 14:12 to play.

BIG PICTURE

Clemson: Off to a solid start in conference play, the Tigers were tested on the road for the second straight game after edging Florida State by a point on Saturday. It hasn’t been easy for them away from home with a 4-3 record and with three away matchups against North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia to go, they’ll need to get it straightened out of they’re going to won the ACC regular-season title.

Boston College: The Eagles proved when they play defense that they’re a tough out in coach Earl Grant’s second season. A little more offense could make them very dangerous for top ACC teams to play.

ARRIVING LATE

In the first half, Clemson’s man-to-man defense smothered the Eagles’ offense for the opening 10 minutes, holding them in single digits in scoring until just about the same time the student section finished filling up late, bringing some energy to a very quiet building.

BC’s players then responded, closing the half with a 22-4 spree that turned an 11-point deficit to a 30-23 halftime edge.

SIDELINED

Both teams were missing key players. Guard Brevin Galloway, Clemson’s fourth leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, was sidelined with an abdominal injury. For BC, guard DeMarr Langford Jr., who logs big minutes at the point, was out with a knee injury.

UP NEXT

Clemson: Hosts No. 23 Miami on Saturday.

Boston College: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday.

Double-double hoarder Bacot leads UNC past Boston College

Associated PressJan 17, 2023, 11:26 PM EST

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Armando Bacot scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, R.J. Davis added 18 points and North Carolina beat Boston College 72-64 on Tuesday night.

Bacot had his 11th double-double of the season and the 60th of his career. He is now tied for the UNC double-double record with Naismith Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham. The 16-rebound performance was Bacot’s 21st game with 15 or more rebounds.

Davis’ 3-pointer with 12:39 left put North Carolina (12-6, 5-3 ACC) ahead 52-41. The Eagles challenged with a 14-3 outburst over the next six minutes and reduced their deficit to 56-55 on Jaeden Zackery’s layup with 6:07 to go. But Caleb Love countered with a 3-pointer and a layup less than 60 seconds following a BC miss, and Davis sank a pair of foul shots to blunt an upset bid. The Eagles (8-11, 2-6) never got closer four (63-59) the rest of the way.

Love finished with 16 points and Bacot finished shooting 8 for 11. North Carolina led 31-26 at halftime and never trailed.

Quinten Post scored 17 points for Boston College and Zackery added 14 points. The Eagles made 12 of 14 foul shots but missed all six attempted 3-pointers.

The Tar Heels are 21-6 all-time against the Eagles, including 19-5 since BC joined the ACC in the 2005-06 season. North Carolina has won 15 of the last 16 games in the series.

Boston College faces Notre Dame on the road on Saturday. North Carolina hosts North Carolina State on Saturday.

No. 7 Virginia Tech posts 9th straight win, beats Boston College 73-58

Associated PressDec 7, 2022, 9:52 PM EST

Erica Denhoff/Getty Images

BOSTON — Reigning Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year Elizabeth Kitley had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Cayla King scored 16 on Wednesday night to lead No. 7 Virginia Tech to a 73-58 victory over Boston College, the Hokies’ ninth straight win.

Taylor Soule, one of two BC transfers on the roster for Virginia Tech (9-0, 1-0 ACC), added nine points and five rebounds. Soule scored more than 1,500 points and grabbed almost 700 rebounds in four seasons at BC, earning All-ACC honors three times.

Andrea Daley scored 15 points and Maria Gakdeng scored 14 for BC (7-4, 0-1). They each grabbed six rebounds.

Virginia Tech scored 17 of the game’s first 21 points and led by as many as 19 in the third quarter before BC cut the deficit to 10 in the fourth. Leading 64-54 with under three minutes left and the shot clock expiring, Kayana Traylor hit a 3-pointer for the Hokies.

Gakdeng missed two free throws for BC, and then Kitley scored from inside to make it a 15-point game.

Clara Ford, who also played four years in Chestnut Hill, pitched in 2 points in 2 minutes against her former team.

BIG PICTURE

At No. 7, the Hokies have the highest ranking in the program’s history. With the victory over BC, a 10th straight win against North Carolina-Asheville on Sunday would leave Virginia Tech in position to move up even higher should a top five team falter.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: Hosts North Carolina-Asheville on Sunday.

Boston College: Hosts Albany on Saturday.