Thoughts from Earl Grant after win vs. Hampton

While the score ultimately was only an 11-point difference, this one was never really in doubt for the Eagles on Tuesday night inside Conte Forum.

BC led by as many as 22 and had a fairly easy third win of the season. Fred Payne led the way with 14 points, three assists and a rebound. Boden Kapke was the only other Eagle in double digits with 10 points, three rebounds and an assist.

BC was just 5-27 from three (19%), but Hampton was 4-23 (17%). The Eagles were also 14-19 from the line (74%) while Hampton went 6-14 (43%). BC had 11 assists and forced 14 turnovers.

Earl Grant spoke postgame. Here’s everything he had to say before BC plays Davidson Friday afternoon in the first round of the 2025 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic:

Opening statement

“Yeah, I mean obviously, we won. Winning is fun. It’s not easy to do. There’s certain things we wish we could have done better. But, that’s why it’s a season. We’ll keep working at it. We’ll take the win and watch the film tomorrow, learn from it and get ready for the road trip.”

On the defense despite a poor shooting night

“I mean, our defense helped us. Obviously, the first half, they had 24 points. For the game they had 52. That’s something we’ve done pretty much, most games this year. I think offensively, we expecting an eruption at some point. We’re sharing the ball pretty well when we are making shots. We’re looking for that to happen. But, in terms of our defense and just our resiliency and how hard we work, I can’t question the effort the guys are giving.”

On Payne’s growth and development on the court

“He’s trying to lead. He’s more engaged. He’s taking more ownership. He’s a second-year player, so he’s taking more ownership as a young guy in the program. But, I think that’s the biggest thing, just the leadership we see from him every day. He’s an every day guy. He wants to win. So, I think his energy is contagious. His toughness is contagious. He demands his teammates to raise up to his level.”

On Luka Toews playing late in the game

“At the end of the day, we got a lot of players that are capable of doing different things. The rhythm of the game kind of indicates…I know when we were on the road at Temple and then tonight, the rhythm of the game indicated that he needed to be in. It wasn’t by design. It wasn’t by plan. But, the rhythm of the game indicated he needed to be in. He’s a steady hand. He makes good decisions with the ball, he’s a good free throw shooter. So, that’s why he was in tonight.”

On the ball movement early

“You know, it’s amazing. I gotta watch the film. we got up 22 points and they jumped it up and we lost some poise and composure. That’s where we’ve got to grow. It’s just something we’ve got to grow. I’ve seen it from our team before. We’ve got to grow in it. We won the game, but you wish you could take care of the ball and get to the free throw line, lay it in a few times when they pressure you like that. That’s an area we’ve got to continue to grow in. But, it’s nice to grow in that area while you’re winning…early, we were really good. We hadn’t turned the ball over much in the last two games. We had eight the last game, 10 tonight.

“Three of them were unforced that happened late. So, we capable of being under 10. If you’re under 10, that’s like a national level to be at, eight, seven turnovers a game.”

On how he stays the same through highs and lows

“I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot in life. I’ve seen a lot, I’ve been through a lot. So, I’ve seen a lot of hard things, right? I call a spade a spade. I know my team. I see what we got and we’re going to use what we got to the best of our ability. We’re a work in progress. I see it. I feel it every day. We’ve got a lot of growth to do and we’re probably at like, 65% of our capacity right now. I want to get us to 100. But, we’ve got to keep working. We gotta be patient. We can’t get discouraged. We’ve gotta keep showing up. Whether you win a game or lose a game, you’ve got to do the same thing tomorrow.

“I think that’s the challenge for us. It’s like, we’ve been pretty good when we were miserable the next game, right? Now, you’ve got to learn how…you won a game and you should feel good about that, like, you’ve got to be good again. So, trying to stay focused and even-keel without conditions attached to it. Win or loss, win three in a row, lost one…you’ve got to show up, that’s what life is. Good days, bad days, they all come…we’re just trying to find a way to be even-keeled with that. Try to calm the troops, but teach them at the same time.”

On if he still considers this a three-point shooting team

“We always got good balance. We usually attack the basket first. This team is probably gonna…you’ve got to throw out some games in order to do it, but this team is probably going to be a 35% three-point-shooting team. As long as we getting the right looks, I think we’ve gotta continue to take them. But, that’s the encouraging thing. We’ve played good basketball without shooting it great. So, now, we continue to maintain our defense and clean up a few things on offense. When the ball starts going in a few more times, I think the floodgates will open and we expecting that soon.”

On how the team has bounced back after the CCSU loss

“We’re just growing. We’re growing through it and again, not trying to look too far ahead. I think that’s something that we’ve gotta stay in the moment and focus on the process of becoming a good team. That’s the process of becoming. So, we won tonight. We’ve got to watch the film in the morning. We’ve got to get ready for the next good opponent we’ve got on the schedule. I’m excited about that. I’m excited to see us continue to grow.”

On 9 players playing 10 or more minutes & 31 bench points

“I hope they can continue to grow. I think that’s why you see some good patches and some bad patches. I did play…three or four freshmen tonight. So, i think you’ll see some ebbs and flows, but I gotta get some of these guys ready. I’ve got to figure out who’s our best nine that we can play and depend on. This part of the year, I’m trying to discover that. So, I think that’s why you see some dips, some ebbs and flows. I do have some youth on the floor at times. I can put a really old team on the floor too, but, at the end of the day, we’ve got to get nine or 10 guys ready. So, there’s still some development going into it. And again, while they develop, we’ve still gotta play good basketball. That will be one thing…you take the game tonight and say ‘well, good defense, played hard, did a lot of good things, wish we could have finished a little better.’

“That’s the next step for us. How do we finish better? Every week or every two weeks, there’s another thing you’re trying to discover. Like, now. it’s, how do we finish better? How do we finish better? That’s where we are.”