BC can't close again as upset bid vs. UVA falls short
Earl Grant has (rightfully) gotten his share of criticism over the last few years, but at some point, players just need to finish.
BC had a rocking home crowd on its side and a lead late against No. 17 Virginia on Saturday afternoon, but in a theme that’s become all too common this season, the Eagles couldn’t close.
BC went an embarrassing, putrid 15-26 from the free throw line, which was ultimately the difference in a 73-66 loss. Plain and simple, D1 athletes players have no excuse to be that bad from the line.
The Eagles are now 9-12 overall and 2-6 in the ACC after getting outscored 46-34 in the second half. BC was just 3-13 from three, while UVA was an ugly 4-23 from beyond the arc.
Donald Hand Jr. had 20 points and six rebounds. Fred Payne had 17, while Boden Kapke (14) and Jayden Hastings (12) were also in double-digits.
Here’s what Hand Jr. and Payne had to say postgame:
Hand Jr.
On if he felt like he was in a rhythm
“Yes sir. Yeah, I felt like I was in a rhythm. My teammates found me in my spots and got to my spots. Tried to get to the free throw line, tried to get to the rim and it worked out today, so…”
On hanging with a ranked team like UVA
“It’s cool and all, but I wish we won. They put on a jersey just like us. These are guys we grew up playing against our whole life. So, even though they was like, what, No. 14 in the country? We’re still disappointed we lost. We’re not going to be like, ‘we lost by six to the No. 14 team in the country,’ we wanted to win, so, that’s really all to it.”
On getting the bench going (BC bench was outscored 28-1)
“That’s really Coach’s decision. That’s a question for Coach. We just go out there and try to play our hardest, support our teammates, then Coach does the rest, so…”
On guarding Thijs De Ridder
“Um, we didn’t really have to guard him that much, but he’s pretty tough. You seen he had 32 (points) or something against Notre Dame and what he’d have, like 20 tonight? Or 18, so that’s a tough matchup. You go for 32 and 20 against ACC teams, you’re hard to guard. Hats off to him, really good player.”
Payne
On getting the bench going
“I don’t know. That’s a tough question. I mean, when you come off the bench, you’ve just got to be ready to play. I feel like our guys are ready to play, though. So, I feel like they’re ready. That’s all I have to say.”
Earl Grant’s full postgame press conference with Hand Jr. and Payne is here too.
