Boston College Completes Sweep of Virginia Tech

By Jack Brizendine

Staff Writer

February 8, 2023

Boston College won their fifth straight meeting over Virginia Tech, taking down the Hokies, 82-76. (Boston College Athletics)

BLACKSBURG — Backup point guard Chas Kelley III drained a three with 7:55 to go in the first half to give Boston College the Eagles their first lead since the opening minute — and BC never looked back.

Kelley’s trey was one of Boston College’s (12-13, 6-8 ACC) 12 on the night, taking down Virginia Tech (14-10, 4-9) for the second time this year on Wednesday night, 82-76. Pinpoint accuracy from deep combined with stellar play from their reserves allowed the Eagles to cruise to their sixth ACC win of the year. Tech lost to BC in Chestnut Hill on Dec. 21, 70-65.

The Hokies, on the other hand, only netted 10 from range, shooting 31.3% on the night. Despite moving the ball well on offense — Tech only turned the ball over five times — VT couldn’t consistently find the bottom of the net, basketing a mere 41.9% from the field.

[We] were trying to offer more to [Quinten] Post to get the ball out of there,” Tech head coach Mike Young said to reporters after the game. “We had a couple busted coverages. I’ll be interested to go back and see it on film, see exactly what transpired.”

Post led the way for the Eagles, dropping 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Boston College’s bench contributed over a third of the team’s total points on the night, posting 25 points.

Kelley scored a season-high 17 points off the bench, including four treys. Backups T.J. Bickerstaff and Mason Madsen combined for 12 points.

“Kelly played well for them,” Young said. “That was a big deal for them.”

Despite Tech’s underwhelming performance throughout the game, the Hokies were able to claw back within four points of the Eagles with under a minute to go. A 5-0 run fueled by a three from Sean Pedulla and pair of free throws from Justyn Mutts brought the Hokies within two possessions of the lead with only 18 seconds left in the game.

“I think we were playing hard,” graduate forward Grant Basile said about the Hokies late comeback attempt. “Obviously at the end of the day we gotta find a way to get it done.”

Basile carried the load for VT Wednesday night, creating the chance for the comeback opportunity in the first place.

The Wright State transfer dropped a career-high 33 points against Boston College, in addition to four assists and two blocks. 

“I think we did a pretty good job sharing the ball,” Basile said. “I think we played out of the post a lot. We got some good looks offensively, but obviously defensively we weren’t at the level we need to be.”

The Hokies led by as many as seven points in the first half, but a 20-4 run from the Eagles before halftime built an insurmountable lead for Boston College.

Coming into Wednesday night in the “considered” range of Joe Lundardi’s bracketology projections, Virginia Tech seemingly must go on a big run over the next couple of weeks to have a chance at making the NCAA tournament.

The odds are slim, but the belief in the locker room is that Young’s group has the pieces in place to make a late-season push.

“I think we’ve got a lot of really good players and we’ll continue to trust the scout and lock in,” Basile said.