Sometimes the basket just seems a little bit bigger. After going 8-of-10 for 16 points in Boston College men’s basketball’s season opener against Dartmouth, DeMarr Langford Jr. continued his hot shooting by starting the game 5-for-5 from the field en route to a career-high 20 points.
Langford Jr.’s 13-of-15 start to the season is the best by an ACC player—with a minimum of two games and 15 field goals attempted—since Clemson’s Harold Jamison did it in 1996.
After opening the game on a 7–0 run and extending their lead to 13–2, the Eagles (2–0) never looked back, ousting Holy Cross (1–1) by a 30-point margin, 85–55.
Tuesday’s win over Dartmouth marked the first time since 2019 that BC hadn’t trailed in a game it ended up winning. The Eagles did it again on Friday.
Much like the season-opening win, everything started on the defensive end for BC. The Eagles led 49–27 at the break due in large part to BC’s 20 points off turnovers. While forcing 12 first-half turnovers out of Holy Cross, the Eagles only committed four themselves, something head coach Earl Grant said is a goal for this year.
Leading by 22 at the break, BC did not take its foot off the gas. After two Langford Jr. free throws to open the half, the Eagles set up in a full-court, man-to-man defense, leading to a 13–0 run and a Holy Cross timeout.
On offense, BC played freely, finding the open man and moving without the ball. The Eagles’ points came from all over, with five players scoring in double figures. Langford Jr. led the way with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the freethrow line. Fifth-year player Makai Ashton-Langford played an all-around game, scoring 12 points to go along with four assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
“Makai [Ashton-Langford]’s been an everyday guy since I got here,” Grant said. “He’s always in the gym working, and you saw the result tonight.”
Junior T.J. Bickerstaff, a transfer from Drexel, delivered 15 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Jaeden Zackery, a transfer from Chipola College, dished out six assists to go along with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. And Quinten Post, another transfer, added 10 points in his 16 minutes of action.
“He can score around the rim, he can pass a little bit, and he can shoot the three ball quite well,” Grant said of Post.
Post, the 7-foot, 240-pound big man who transferred from Mississippi State, is listed as a forward on BC’s roster.
All three transfers scoring in double digits is massive for BC, a team that lost nearly 70 percent of its scoring last season to the transfer portal, and Steffon Mitchell to the NBA Draft.
Two double-digit wins to open the season spell good news for the Eagles, though Grant was hesitant to get ahead of himself with the threat of much tougher ACC competition looming.
“We haven’t faced much adversity in either game,” Grant said. “Without a struggle there’s no progress.”
Featured Image by Chris Ticas / Heights Contributor
