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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech’s Adam Smith scored 22 points, but a sluggish first half turned out to be too much to overcome, as the Hokies fell 66-59 to Boston College in an ACC game played Monday night at Cassell Coliseum.
With the loss, Tech fell to 10-20 overall, 2-15 in league play. BC, which beat the Hokies for the fourth straight time, moved to 11-18 overall, 3-14 in the ACC.
The Hokies led 19-17 after a 3-pointer by Devin Wilson with 8:40 left in the first half, but the Eagles outscored the Hokies 24-9 to close out the half, using a 14-2 run to grab the lead, with Batten hitting two 3-pointers during that stretch. BC did not trail again.
The Eagles shot 63 percent (17 of 27) in the first half and hit 5 of 11 from beyond the 3-point arc in grabbing a 41-28 lead. Virginia Tech shot just 38.5 percent (10 of 26) in the first half.
“I’m disappointed in the effort of the first 20 minutes,” Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. “That’s not been what we’ve talked about over the last few weeks.
“Good players and good coaches are excited just to play. We had no excitement in the first half.”
Boston College then opened the second half with an 11-2 run and took a 52-30 lead, its biggest of the game, on two free throws by Garland Owens with 15:44 remaining. But the Hokies responded with a 16-2 run, getting eight points from Smith in that run, and Christian Beyer’s layup with 8:18 pulled Virginia Tech within six.
The Hokies cut the lead to 60-54 on a 3-pointer by Smith with 2:13 to go and had a chance to cut into the lead even more. But Smith missed a 3-pointer with 1:18 left, and Aaron Brown gave the Boston College a 62-54 cushion on two free throws with a minute remaining.
The Eagles made 4 of 6 from the line in the final in the final 46 seconds to seal it.
Dimitri Batten tied a career high with 18 points to lead the Eagles. Averaging a little more than six points per game coming into the contest, Batten hit 7 of 9 from the field, including a career-high four 3-pointers. He led four players in double figures, including Olivier Hanlan, who scored just 15 after coming into the game averaging 22.6 per game.
Hanlan finished 15 points for the Eagles, who shot 52.4 percent (22 of 42). Brown scored 13 and Dennis Clifford had 10 and nine rebounds.
Smith paced the Hokies, who have lost six straight games, by hitting 7 of 16 from the floor, including three 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures in 12 straight games. The Hokies shot just 38.9 percent (21 of 54).
Tech closes out the regular season on Saturday with a home game against Miami. Tipoff is slated for noon.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MBBall
For updates on the Hokies, follow Jimmy Robertson on Twitter Follow @jrobIHS
