Hokies Clip Eagles' Wings

After knocking off previously unbeaten and No. 1 North Carolina back on Jan. 4, the Boston College Eagles have been in free-fall mode.

The Eagles suffered their fourth consecutive loss (third in conference play) to fall to 13-6 on the season and 1-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Jeff Allen torched B.C. with 30 points, nine rebounds, two assists, three steals, and three blocks in 38 minutes of action. About the only thing he did wrong was shoot a dismal seven-of-12 from the foul line.

Allen had some help from two of his teammates.

A.D. Vasallo chipped in 16 points on seven-of-15 shooting, while Malcolm Delaney tallied 19 points, including 11-of-12 free throws, while dishing out a team-high four assists.

Joe Trapani recorded a double-double for B.C. (23 points, 10 boards) before fouling out.

Senior guard Tyrese Rice had 19 points and five assists, but struggled from the field making only six of 19 shots.

And sophomore Rakim Sanders also kicked in 14 points for the Eagles.

The Hokies won this game on the defensive end, as they held the Eagles to 41 percent shooting, including 29 percent on three-pointers.

Virginia Tech, on the other hand, made 40 percent of their field goals and 41 percent from behind the arc.

To make matters worse, B.C. was out-rebounded 38-29 and Virginia Tech made more free throws (20) than the Eagles took (18).

Trapani, Rice, and Sanders received no help from their teammates.

Center Josh Southern played only 15 minutes, scoring three points with three free throws.

The B.C. bench wasn’t much better, as it produced only four points (all from Reggie Jackson).

The big-picture question the Eagles are now confronted with is where do they go from here?

Any positive mojo they gained from the upset of the Tar Heels was given right back with the shocking home defeat by Harvard.

That was followed up with a 20-point drubbing by undefeated Wake Forest and a close loss to Miami, both at home.

Boston Colleges’ next game is at Georgia Tech, followed by a visit from N.C. State, a road game at Maryland, and a return game at home with Virginia Tech. Those four teams combined have a conference record of 4-9.

Some of B.C.’s struggles can be attributed to their youth. The roster consists of 10 freshmen and sophomores. Throw in the always challenging night-in and night-out ACC games and most young teams will struggle.

But if the Eagles want to make a return to the NCAA tournament, they must find a way to be more consistent.