Boston College takes on high-scoring Richmond

Field Level Media|published: Tue 14th November, 14:18 2023

Mar 4, 2023; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles guard Jaeden Zackery (3) dribbles the ball during the second half of a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Conte Forum. credits: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Boston College begins a two-game homestand before Thanksgiving week when it hosts Richmond in a battle of early-season unbeatens on Wednesday night.

Two of the top players for the Eagles (2-0) are looking to build off career-best performances from the opening week of the season.

Jaeden Zackery led the way in Friday's 75-71 road win against a young but feisty squad from The Citadel. He scored 21 points — a career high for the junior — on 8-of-12 shooting to lead five Boston College players in double figures.

"(Zackery) is just a steady hand," BC coach Earl Grant said. "He's consistent, he stepped up. He was a leader tonight. He was aggressive, he was confident. And you know, he really kind of put everyone on his back. He was very vocal."

Zackery's effort came with big man Quinten Post on the bench for slightly more than half of Friday's game due to foul trouble. Post had stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in a season-opening, 89-70 win over Fairfield.

BC has to "continue to, offensively, find ways to get the ball into the right guys in the right place at the right time," Grant said.

Those experienced players will be key as the Eagles move forward with the goal of improving to 3-0 for the fourth time in seven seasons.

The most recent victory for the Spiders (2-0) was a dominating 90-48 win over Siena in which they shot 59.3 percent from the field and scored 31 points off 22 turnovers, while committing only eight themselves. It was their largest margin of victory in 11 years.

Isaiah Bigelow led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Dji Bailey added a career-high 14 off the bench.

The wins have come while Richmond breaks in eight newcomers, the most in coach Chris Mooney's 19 seasons at the helm.

"The biggest thing in terms of having a selfless group or a group that shares the ball is having good guys," Mooney said. "If you ... recruit guys who are good guys, good teammates ... then that cohesion and chemistry is going to come along more quickly."

Richmond has opened the season with back-to-back 90-point games for only the second time in program history.

—Field Level Media

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