Boston College kept its foot on the gas from the opening possession Tuesday night and rolled past Maryland Eastern Shore, 82-54, at Conte Forum on Veteran Appreciation Night.
The Eagles got a balanced scoring night and never let the Hawks settle in, improving to 3-0 on the season. Luke Hunger led the way with 20 points, and he did it efficiently, finishing a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Žak Smrekar added 16 points, while Colby Duggan knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to 14.
BC also got useful production across the board. Money Williams finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists, while Armoni Zeigler gave the Eagles a lift off the bench with seven points, a game-high nine rebounds and three steals. JB Frankel chipped in six points, all on two 3-pointers.
The story was just as strong on the defensive end. Boston College held UMES to 18-of-42 shooting overall and just 3-of-12 from deep, while controlling the glass by a wide margin. The Eagles finished with a season-high 42 rebounds, including 19 on the offensive end, and turned that work into 12 second-chance points.
BC was also nearly flawless at the line, going 23-of-24 as a team. That 95.8 percent clip ranks as the tenth-highest mark in program history dating back to 1971-72.
The tone was set immediately. Money Williams blocked a layup off the opening tip, and Colby Duggan followed with a corner 3-pointer at 19:45 for a 3-0 lead. Luke Hunger then started heating up, drilling a 3-pointer with 16:26 left in the half to make it 12-6, then adding another with 10:47 remaining to push the margin to 22-9.
Duggan kept the pressure on with his second triple of the half at 6:27, stretching the lead to 29-18. Boston College closed the opening period with a pair of Money Williams free throws at the buzzer, taking a 43-25 advantage into halftime.
The Eagles were perfect from the line in the first half, hitting all 14 of their free throws, and they owned the boards 24-9 before the break, including 12 offensive rebounds.
The second half brought more of the same. Duggan buried his third 3-pointer of the night at 17:36 to make it 51-33, and Zeigler answered with a deep ball at 16:17 to extend the lead to 54-35. Smrekar joined the party with a 3-pointer at 14:12, pushing the cushion to 57-35.
From there, Boston College stayed comfortably in control. The teams traded baskets through the middle stretch, but the Eagles kept a 20-point buffer the rest of the way. Smrekar then picked off a pass and finished with a fast-break dunk at 1:17 to make it 79-53, and Frankel closed the scoring with a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds for the 82-54 final.
BC’s defense held UMES to 29 points in the second half and limited the Hawks to 1-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc after the break.
The Eagles are now 5-0 all time against Maryland Eastern Shore. Next up is New Hampshire on Sunday, November 15, at Conte Forum.
Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m., with the game streaming live on ACC Network Extra. Boston College owns a 26-7 record against the Wildcats, though New Hampshire won the most recent meeting, 74-71 in overtime on 12/6/22.
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