Everything Boston College Men’s Basketball Head Coach Earl Grant Said After Loss to Louisville

The Eagles coach spoke about his team’s performance on Wednesday night.

Jan 4, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Earl Grant talks to a player against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Boston College Eagles (10-12, 2-9 ACC) men’s basketball team suffered a home loss to the Louisville Cardinals (17-6, 10-2 ACC) 84-58 on Wednesday night. 

After the game, Eagles head coach Earl Grant spoke about his team’s performance. 

Below is a transcript of everything Grant said. 

Q: Elijah Strong back today, but at the same time Venning out with a foot injury. Just what is he dealing with and when can you expect him back? 

GRANT: Game-time decision. Found out yesterday there was a chance he maybe could play and maybe not play. So, game time decision. He didn't play. Obviously, we found that out a little bit before the game. I don't think it's any major issue with his foot, but it's something going on there. And then Elijah Strong hadn't played in four weeks. Tough deal, tough deal. Hadn't played in four weeks. Came back, practiced a couple days ago, and gave us what he could give us. He was gassed. Hadn't been in a game, so appreciate his efforts. Got to find his rhythm.

Q: Going into half, you guys were equally matched in most categories, but you’re still losing by 10… 

GRANT: I just thought early in the game, we were executing well, but we had some turnovers that were unforced. Stepped out of bounds a couple times, just kind of some uncharacteristic turnovers that hurt you. Anytime you turn it over, you don't get a shot at the basket. So other than that, we were even [other than] those two or three turnovers. Thought they made some three’s. We needed to take away the three’s. They made five three’s in the first half. Actually, they made seven three’s in the first half. So again, 10 point game at half. We didn't play well enough to win the game. Simple. 

Q: Just to go off of that, it seemed like you guys were getting some open shots, they just weren't hitting. Is that what you saw from your end? 

GRANT: I thought the game was even and then we had a two minute patch in the middle of the second half, we cut it to five maybe 14 minutes left in the game. And then we had a two-minute spell where, again, whether it was fatigue or lack of maturity, whatever you want to call it, we took two or three shots and we allowed Hadley to get out and run. So they got a few layups in transition and it went right back to 12. That's the story of the game. I mean, I thought we allowed them, they made one big run that took the game from maybe from a three possession game to 18 points and it was hard to overcome that.

Q: When you lose a guy like that, Chucky Hepburn there [at] like the 15 minute mark of the second half, obviously he makes a lot of things happen for Louisville. What about what they were doing after that let them really like as you said, take control of the game?

GRANT: Terrence Edwards. I mean, the fifth year senior, been playing point guard for four years at James Madison, saw the kid in high school, big time player and that's what they went to. Hepburn went out, they went to a fifth year senior. Guy was talented. So, that's the depth of their team. I think they wore us down. We actually, we were overwhelmed in the middle of the second half. We had a great game plan. We were playing good basketball. We were executing, things were going well. And they threw a punch that we couldn't recover from. 

Q: All fifth years [and] seniors, except for that one guy. What do you think about their experience that helps? 

GRANT: Again, Maturity. And you don't want to make any excuses, but like a fifth-year guy going against a freshman, it's going to be a difference, right? Jayden Hastings did all he could. I'm proud of him. He played hard, gave great effort, but it is a freshman against a fifth year guy, right? So that's where they are. They're very deep. They're playing good basketball. [Pat] Kelsey does a great job. We got a long relationship, so he's a good coach, and they got really good players. And our guys fought hard, playing great basketball, showed good character. But again, it got to a point in the game where we ran out of gas and they kind of pulled away from us.

Q: I'm just going to ask what it was like to be able to see Pat again. Obviously, he was the one who came after you at Charleston. So, watching you have a moment with him after the game, I guess, what was that like?

GRANT: Yeah, I’ve known him for 20 years and kind of came into [the] business together and [he’s] doing a great job. So, good to see him. Got a good team. He's doing a great job, so happy for him.