The Eagles began their two-game California stretch against Stanford, facing off against the Cardinals on February 26 for the second time in the school’s history and for the first time as ACC opponents.
The game began with two early turnovers by center Chad Venning. However, the Eagles soon recovered as Dion Brown scored an impressive and-one layup, converting the free throw. Donald Hand Jr later followed with a cold-blooded three staring down the Stanford bench afterwards. Meanwhile, Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud set the tone early, scoring the Cardinals’ first seven points. His strong start was a continuation of his stellar season, where he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. Stanford’s continuous defensive pressure led to the Eagles suffering 6 turnovers within the first 8 minutes of the contest. Stanford exploded with a 15-2 run as they approached the midway point of the first half. The Eagles managed to regain their footing, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 8 with 6 minutes remaining in the first half. However, this short burst of energy was short-lived as Stanford proceeded to go on a 14-4 run to end the half with a 37-19 lead.
Jaylen Blake opened the scoring for Stanford on their first possession of the half, hitting a fadeaway jumper to increase the lead to 39-19. Blake followed his highlight-worthy shot with an impressive pass to Ryan Agarwal, who scored a reverse layup to further the lead. At this point, it was clear that adjustments were necessary for the Eagles to have any chance of mounting a comeback. Coach Earl Grant, however, remained firm in his rotations. Roger McFarlane scored on a floater for the Eagle’s first points of the half, following it up with a three. The Eagles’ struggles continued as Dion Brown missed an open dunk, allowing Stanford to capitalize with Agarwal finishing a fastbreak layup. The stark contrast in energy between the two teams was epitomized by Blake’s hustle play, as he dove to save a possession for Stanford after a missed shot, tapping it out to Oziyah Sellers. Sellers capitalized, drilling a three-pointer to bring his total to 14 points and extending Stanford’s lead to 54-28. With the Eagles now facing a daunting 26-point deficit, a comeback seemed nearly impossible. Luka Towes got on the board with a three-pointer, capping an 11-2 run by the Eagles and cutting the deficit to 59-41 with 11 minutes left in the game. With four minutes left in the game, Elijah Strong converted a layup to trim the Eagles’ deficit to 15, making it 70-55—their smallest gap of the half.
The game ended with Stanford securing a 78-60 victory over BC. With the win, Stanford improved to 18-10 overall and 10-7 in conference play, while Boston College fell to 12-16 (4-13 ACC). The loss was a disappointing setback for the Eagles, who currently sit 16th in the ACC standings—just outside the top 15 needed to qualify for the conference tournament—trailing Notre Dame but ahead of Miami and NC State.
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