Rakim Sanders, Boston College Hand Virginia Tech a Second Straight Loss

Rakim Sanders has not had the stellar junior year that was expected of him from many Eagles fans. But the love is certainly still there.

An ankle injury plagued the first few weeks of the season for Sanders, and it was tough for No. 15 to find any rhythm in an up-and-down season for BC.

On Wednesday night, Virginia Tech (21-6, 8-5) came into Chestnut Hill off a loss on Sunday to Duke with hopes of avoiding their second straight loss.

That was not the case.

Boston College shot 50.9 percent from the field, led by 17 points from junior Joe Trapani (all of which came in the first half) and an additional 15 points from classmate Rakim Sanders.

Sanders eclipsed the 1,000 point scoring mark on a free throw with 11:44 to play in the second half, becoming the 36th player in program history to reach this milestone.

With a key home test on Saturday against Maryland in their minds, it appeared Virginia Tech ran right into the trap at Conte Forum on Wednesday night. A struggling Eagles team came out quick and never looked back.

A 15-2 start out of the opening gate gave BC a lead they would never give up, rolling to an 80-60 ACC victory at home.

Big men Jeff Allen and J.T. Thompson got into foul trouble for Virginia Tech and could never get much of a flow going. Malcolm Delaney struggled shooting the ball (5-of-16) for the second time this season against the Eagles, but still managed to finish with a game-high 21 points aided by a 10-for-10 night from the free throw line.

The Eagles go-to guy, Reggie Jackson, was limited to only five points, but did dish out a team-high 11 assists. Jackson became the first BC player to record double digit assists since Tyrese Rice had 13 assists in a 2007 victory over Hartford.

A note for Boston College fans: Junior Nick Mosakowski recorded his first career collegiate points in the win, a 3-point shot with 37.0 seconds to play—a nice ending to a great night for BC basketball.

The loss for the Hokies is their second in as many games. A game with the Terrapins on Saturday might be one Virginia Tech needs to win in order to keep from putting themselves back on the bubble.

For Boston College, they have now won two games in a row to move back above .500 overall at 14-13.

The Eagles (14-13, 5-8) will travel to Atlanta for a road game at Georgia Tech (18-9, 6-7) on Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 12:00PM.