Boston College 89, Washington 78: Eagles Bounce Back in 2K Consolation Game

Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday evening at Madison Square Garden, the Boston College Eagles defeated the Washington Huskies, 89-78, in the 2K Sports Classic consolation game.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 2-4 on the season and have their first win against a major-conference opponent. It was the first-ever meeting between Boston College and Washington in basketball.

The Eagles jumped out to an early lead and were able to get and maintain a sizable advantage throughout the contest. At one point in the first half, Boston College, led by Joe Rahon’s hot shooting, made ten straight shots from the field, the vast majority of which were three-pointers. The lead briefly touched single-digits on several occasions, but the end result never appeared to be in danger at any point in the second half.

Rahon finished with 22 points for the game; Olivier Hanlan had 20 points, Ryan Anderson 18, and Lonnie Jackson had ten points off the bench.

Boston College’s long-range shooting was vastly improved compared to their defeat on Thursday night. The Eagles made 11 three-pointers on Friday against Washington, shooting 55 percent for the game while also outrebounding the Huskies, 33-29. Washington shot 50 percent from the floor and made ten threes of their own.

The defensive aspect for Boston College is still troublesome, though elsewhere they did scrap for ten offensive rebounds and were less sloppy than they have been in other games. For tonight, the sense of urgency appeared to be there.

The Eagles’ lingering problem is that they are one-dimensional; if the threes fall, they will do well, but if they don’t, they will suffer. Without the long jumpers going in, there is little else upon which Boston College can rely. Despite getting a crucial win that they desperately needed, this contest did serve as a reminder of how the Eagles live and die on hot shooting.

The Eagles return home to face Sacred Heart on Tuesday night.