Harvard 73, Boston College 58: Eagles Lose Sixth Straight to Crimson

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston College Eagles have lost their sixth-straight men’s basketball game to the Harvard Crimson, dating back to the 2008-09 season, as on Wednesday afternoon in Cambridge, Harvard won, 73-58.

With the loss, Boston College completes non-conference play, dropping to 4-10 (0-1) on the season. The Eagles have lost six of their last seven games, and their last Division I win was Sacred Heart in late November.

The first half of the game for Boston College was dreadfully bad, with the Eagles trailing by as many as 20 points. It took the visitors approximately twelve and a half minutes to break double-digits, thanks in large part to cold shooting.

The Eagles actually came alive for much of the second half, playing hard, finishing their shots, and bringing some sorely-missed defensive intensity. At one point, Boston College cut the deficit all the way down to five points, but (what Jon Meterparel claims were) a few missed goaltending calls and subsequent Harvard trips for points put the Eagles further behind for good.

Ryan Anderson led the Eagles with 17 points, coming just short of a double-double. Olivier Hanlan had 13 points while Eddie Odio scored 11; in a somewhat rare instance for him, Odio went 3-for-4 from deep. Harvard’s Kyle Casey had 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, but Wesley Saunders led all scorers with 21 points.

Harvard controlled rebounds, 36-24. The Crimson shot exactly 50 percent from the floor, while Boston College shot exactly 40 percent.

Harvard is a good team, and are almost certainly the best basketball team in Massachusetts at present, but that does not make it alright for an ACC program to continue to lose to an Ivy League school. It also does not say good things about this program for being down for as long as it has been. Boston College basketball is nothing more than a perpetual afterthought at this point, and change will most likely be forthcoming.

With regards to the Eagles showing some intensity later in the game, the phrase “better late than never” comes to mind, but so does “where was this all season?” It is an entirely valid question, and one which makes fans wonder what triggered this sudden flare-up. Don’t complain that it happened, but do complain that it happened when it was far too late in both the game and the season for it to make a difference.

The Eagles will return to ACC play for good on Saturday as they host the Clemson Tigers.