New Mexico 75, BC 57: Eagles Dropped in 76 Finale
By Joe Micik
One step forward, two steps back.
Following the Eagles’ second win of the season on Friday, Boston College took to the court on Sunday and lost to the New Mexico Lobos, 75-57. The Eagles will fall to 2-4 in non-conference play.
Boston College, coming off of a comeback win over UC-Riverside, did too many things wrong for too long of stretches during the game to have a legitimate chance. Yes, New Mexico is a good-caliber team, but this game was a stern reminder of the youth and inexperience of the Eagles.
The defense from Boston College did not start coming alive until about the half-way point of the second. Before that, New Mexico ended up with a lot of open shots, making BC pay more often than not; UNM also controlled the boards. The Lobos shot 61% from the floor in the first half and outrebounded the Eagles in that period 18-9. BC, on the other hand, shot 35% in both the first and the second. New Mexico finished at 57% for the game, and outrebounded BC, 33-22. BC did, to their credit, play better in the second half.
Though we’re only six games into the season, one thing I want to see end is Matt Humphrey trying way too hard. A lot of what he’s doing out there on the court, especially with regards to long-range shots, looks forced. Here, he’s one of the few upperclassmen and is being expected to produce, but I would prefer to see him making smarter decisions rather than trying to jack up shots and hope they fall. He showed signs of it by making some good passes for open looks; however, it seems like he’s trying to take the team on his back, but I’m not sure he can. Humphrey takes too many shots and he’s not shooting well enough to justify it; he ought to distribute the ball more and not feel compelled to play the chuck-and-duck game. He’ll be better, but he needs to play smarter.
Some other guys had nice games, like Gabe Moton and Lonnie Jackson, but Heckmann was not much of a factor and Anderson only really contributed on the boards. There were some nice individual plays by most of the guys on the team, including Humphrey, Anderson and Heckmann, but as you might expect, the on-court product is far too inconsistent right now to win with regularity.
It never really felt like BC was in the game, and yet, they made a late run to make things interesting before UNM pulled away again. The way things were going early, BC easily could have lost by 30-35, but they don’t quit. That, I believe, is the best redeeming quality of this team right now.
Eventually, BC will put it all together, but they’re not there yet. All we can keep hoping for is that the guys take this experience and learn from it. They should also keep hitting the weight room (I know they’re fresh out of high school, but they need to bust out the whey and bulk up).
On Wednesday night, Boston College will play in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge against Penn State, and yours truly will get to see the team play with his own eyes. I hope for a good crowd and lots of support for these young Eagles.