It was a tale of two halves Sunday for the Boston College Eagles. Half way through the first half the Eagles looked like a poised and determined basketball team, going on a 14-0 run. Junior guard Olivier Hanlan looked untouchable even with the Minuteman double team. He finished the first half with 15 points, leading the way for both teams at that point. The leading scorer for UMASS was Maxie Esho who had 11 points at the half. Going into the locker room the Eagles were up 32-24.
The second half was a much different story compared to the first. UMASS came out in a full court press, which seemed to surprise Boston College. Turnovers plagued the Eagles; they finished with 18 on the game. In the second half the Minutemen also stopped Hanlan, hold him to only three points over the last 20 minutes. With Hanlan locked up that forced others to contribute. Grad student Aaron Brown was the only other Eagle in double digits with 12 on the day.
UMASS went up by as many as 12 points late in the second half and ended up winning the game 71-62. A real issue for Boston College was when UMASS switched up its defense and went into a full court press. The Eagles looked like they had no idea what to do against a little pressure. That could be a very big problem going down the stretch if they cannot figure that out.
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to San Juan for three games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Eagles open the tournament with New Mexico on Thursday at 5 p.m.