Elijah Hughes Scores 28 As Syracuse Downs Boston College 84-71

Eagles hit 19 three points, but not enough as Syracuse's offense is too much

It was a rough night at Conte Forum for the Eagles, as the Syracuse Orange thrashed Boston College 84-71. Syracuse got all the scoring they needed from forward Elijah Hughes, who was electric, leading both teams with 28 points. Boston College who played without Jairus Hamilton, Jared Hamilton and Nik Popovic, struggled on offense all night except for three pointers, which the Eagles hit 19. Senior guard Derryck Thornton led the Eagles with eighteen points.

The game started well for the Eagles, as BC went up early on five quick points by Kamari Williams to take a 8-4 lead. But Syracuse responded with a 7-0 run of their own as Hughes scored seven points in under two minutes. Syracuse was able to run their offense effectively, but couldn't pull away as BC hit a pair of three pointers by Jay Heath and Thornton to keep the deficit manageable. 

The second half started off all Syracuse, who stormed ahead to a huge lead getting as big as 24. The Orange looked strong inside as Bourama Sidibe got some great looks down low, while Buddy Boeheim (21 points) and Hughes continued to reign threes. BC's offense lived and died by the three hitting thirteen in the half, which helped string out the game and make it closer. At one point the deficit shrank to only ten points. But Syracuse's lead was too much, and Syracuse walked out of Conte Forum with the win.

One of the big differences in this game was free throw shooting. The Eagles shot extremely poorly from the line shooting 2-10, while Syracuse was much better at drawing contact and converting, shooting 21-25. Much of the difference in attempts was due to Syracuse getting to the hoop more, while BC settling for three point attempts.

This was yet another loss for the Eagles, who have dropped five out of their last seven games. Boston College is now dangerously close to falling to the bottom two, and having to play a Tuesday game. They currently only hold a half game lead over Virginia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest. 

The Eagles will close out the season with a game on the road against Florida State on Saturday.