BC tops Virginia Tech for first ACC road win in two years

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Boston College coach Steve Donahue hoped that the Eagles' Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at Penn State in November was a good omen for the rest of the season.

The Eagles went through the entire 2011-12 slate without winning on the road, but a 12-point win in State College gave Donahue some hope that this season might be different.

The Eagles snapped another road skid Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum, beating short-handed Virginia Tech 86-75 to win their first conference road game since beating the Hokies in Blacksburg to end the 2010-11 regular season.

"We're just a different basketball team," Donahue said. "We go on the road to College of Charleston and played them tough without Ryan Anderson. We go to Penn State and win that game.

"I think that was something we talked about all summer and spring, that we're going to be a team that's better on the road, and have an attitude about us. I think the kids really maintained that for 40 minutes tonight."

Anderson was more than present Wednesday, scoring a game-high 26 points to lead the Eagles (9-6, 1-1 ACC) to their sixth victory in the past seven games. Anderson added nine rebounds, two assists and a block, and he went 11-for-17 from the floor.

"I think he's a handful one-on-one," Donahue said. "I think teams decide, well, what do we want to do with him? Do we want to trap him or double him? I think our ability to shoot the ball tells people to go one-on-one with him and make him play."

The Eagles hit eight 3-pointers, freeing Anderson up in the post. Lonnie Jackson scored 22 points, and Olivier Hanlan added 17.

Virginia Tech played without starting guard Robert Brown, who had a high temperature at the shootaround and was sent home. The loss of Brown left the Hokies with six scholarship players. Forward Marshall Wood missed his fifth consecutive game due to a broken bone in his left foot.

Erick Green finished with 24 points and nine assists to lead the Hokies (9-6, 0-2 ACC). Jarell Eddie added 21 points for Virginia Tech.

"We've lost four straight, but it feels longer," Green said. "It feels like we've lost six, seven straight, but we've got to stay positive. We've got to keep working and keep getting better."

Boston College led by 12 early in the second half but had to fight off a Virginia Tech rally.

Poor Boston College shot selection allowed the Hokies to hang around, and Virginia Tech pulled within 61-58 with 7:02 left when Green found a wide-open C.J. Barksdale for a dunk.

Virginia Tech got a stop, and Green tried to run an isolation play on the Hokies' next possession. However, he lost the ball, and Anderson scored on the other end on a transition outlet to push the lead back to five. The Eagles kept Virginia Tech at arm's length the rest of the way.

Boston College scored 29 points off of 17 Virginia Tech turnovers.

"That's something we haven't been doing, turning the basketball over," Virginia Tech coach James Johnson said. "I don't know what it was tonight. It was multiple guys with multiple turnovers. I don't know where that came from."

The Eagles shook off a slow start and used a 15-3 spurt -- including a 10-0 half-ending run -- to take a 32-26 lead at the break.

Green's high-arcing jumper with 5:33 left in the half put the Hokies up 23-17. Virginia Tech went ice cold the rest of the half, the team's only basket coming at the 3:56 mark when Will Johnston hit a 3-pointer to put the Hokies up 26-22.

The Eagles subsequently took command. Boston College took the lead on a Hanlan free throw and pushed it to a six-point margin at intermission on a Dennis Clifford dunk with three seconds left.

NOTES: Entering Wednesday's game, 93 percent of Boston College's minutes came from freshmen and sophomores. All five starters Wednesday were underclassmen. ... Barksdale, who was benched in the Hokies' last game at Maryland due to poor effort in practice and games, was back in the starting lineup Wednesday. He scored six points in 16 minutes. ... Walk-on Christian Beyer, who played a combined four minutes in Virginia Tech's first five games, finished with eight rebounds, the fourth time in the last five games he's had at least seven boards. He also scored six points Wednesday.