BOSTON (AP) — Makai Ashton-Langford scored 16 points, Jaeden Zackery had all 12 of his points in the second half and Boston College held No. 6 Virginia to a season-low 32% from the field to beat the Cavaliers 63-48 on Wednesday night.
The Eagles have beaten three ranked teams this season. With BC (14-15, 8-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) only adding to its lead in the final minutes, the raucous Conte Forum crowd gathered along the perimeter of the court, ready to rush it at the final buzzer.
Jayden Gardner scored 16 points for Virginia (21-5, 13-4), which fell into a second-place tie with Pittsburgh in the ACC standings, one-half game behind Miami. The Cavaliers, who had been as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25, had won four in a row and 11 of their previous 12 games.
Virginia led early before BC took the lead for good midway through the first half, using an 11-2 run to open a 26-17 advantage. The Eagles made it a 13-point game early in the second.
Armaan Franklin, the Cavaliers' leading scorer, and fellow guard Reece Beekman combined to go 4 of 18 from the field and miss all six of their 3-point tries. Virginia finished 4 of 21 (19%) from beyond the arc.
BIG PICTURE
Virginia had beaten Boston College four times in a row and needed only to keep moving up to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The setback against a sub-.500 team will be damaging.
Boston College had already beaten Virginia Tech and Clemson this season when they were ranked. The Eagles haven’t beaten three ranked teams in a season since 2008-09.
UP NEXT
Virginia: At North Carolina on Saturday.
Boston College: At Wake Forest on Tuesday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
