Boston College Still Limited, Rolls Over St. Francis (NY)

Paul Seaver — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:47:36 -0500

Juniors Rakim Sanders, Corey Raji, and Courtney Dunn served the final game of their two-game suspensions on Tuesday night. For the Eagles, they had no problem in coasting to an easy victory despite the limited roster.

After roughing up Dartmouth 89-58 last Friday night in their season and home opener, Boston College had no trouble improving to 2-0 last evening.

St. Francis (NY), a member of the Northeast Conference, had virtually no chance heading into Chestnut Hill. The Eagles got off to a quick start in the game and never looked back, winning convincingly, 72-44.

Akeem Bennett was the lone bright spot for St. Francis, finishing with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds.

When looking at the Eagles through the first two games of the season, the key has to be the play of senior Tyler Roche. After scoring a career-high 30 points in the win over Dartmouth, the captain finished with a game-high 19 points last evening, going five of six from beyond the arc.

Sanders and Raji are two potential starters for Al Skinner now that they return from suspension; however, with the play of Roche to start the year, the Eagles’ head coach might have some lineup issues to juggle.

Sanders is one of the best players for Boston College heading into this season and should instantly gain his starting job back. However, it would not be shocking to see Skinner play Raji off the bench.

Big man Josh Southern has also played particularly well to begin the year, and he will probably continue to start down low with Joe Trapani. Despite the hot start Roche has had, he has come off the bench in recent years and might slide back into that role for the Eagles’ third game.

Point guard Biko Paris has done a fine job at point guard in taking over for Tyrese Rice and tied a career-high with seven assists in the win over St. Francis. However, Paris did not score.

Skinner may look at giving some minutes to Reggie Jackson at the point in order to allow the hot-shooting Roche to continue to be on the floor. This might allow the Eagles to have their best offensive group playing together at times.

Boston College has coasted in their first two games of the year but will now face some tougher tests beginning this weekend. The Eagles (2-0) travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the Paradise Jam and will take on St. Joseph’s (2-0) on Friday evening at 6:00 PM. Depending on the outcome, the Eagles may have a matchup with top-10 Purdue this weekend as well.

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Boston College Still Limited, Rolls Over St. Francis (NY)