BOSTON (AP) - Boston College coach Jim Christian knows it’ll take a while for his team to learn to play without last year’s star - Jerome Robinson, who left after his junior year for the NBA draft.
He’s just glad his team is scoring when not shooting well.
Ky Bowman scored 26 points, Jordan Chatman had four key free throws and finished with 18 points and Boston College pulled away from pesky St. Francis Brooklyn for a 74-69 victory on Sunday afternoon.
“We have shown a maturity in both games to stay with it even though we haven’t shot well,” said Christian, whose team shot just 44 percent, missing 15 of 20 on 3-point attempts.
Freshman Wynston Tabbs scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half for the Eagles (2-0). Nik Popovic added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“It’s two games in and I think our whole team is learning to play little bit without Jerome,” Christian said. “It’s going to take some time.”
Robinson was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 13th pick in the first round of June’s draft.
Jalen Jordan matched his career-high with 22 points, Chauncey Hawkins had 17 and Glenn Sanabria 12 for St. Francis (1-1).
Chatman’s two free throws pushed the Eagles ahead 66-65 with 3:12 to play. After both teams missed jumpers, BC’s Steffon Mitchell stole Hawkins’ pass, sending Bowman in for a fastbreak layup.
“I feel like these games early in the season help us tremendously in the long run,” Jordan said.
Tabbs added two free throws, making it 70-65 with 1:47 to play.
Bowman’s two free throws made it 72-68 before Chatman’s two free throws pushed BC ahead by five with 19.3 seconds remaining.
BC had opened a nine-point lead - it’s biggest of the game - on Bowman’s put-back of his own miss with just under 14 minutes to play, but the Terriers responded with an 11-0 run over the ensuing 2:02 that was capped by Hawkins’ 3-pointer from the right wing.
“If I’m not going, I try to pick my energy up on the defensive end to get our team going,” Bowman said.
In the first half, Bowman hit consecutive 3s in the final 52 seconds, sending the teams into the locker room for halftime tied at 33. He was held without a basket until the final two minutes of the half, then had BC’s last three.
BIG PICTURE
St. Francis: The Terriers look like they have some pieces that’ll make them a tough matchup for Northeast Conference play. Jordan, who was on the league’s all-rookie team last season, gives them skill and good outside shooting.
“I was proud of him,” coach Glenn Braica said. “He’s really come back with a certain chip on his shoulder and a certain will.”
Jordan also tied his career-high with eight rebounds.
Boston College: For the second straight game, the Eagles came out slow offensively. It’s an early-season trend they’ll need to cleanup for tough Atlantic Coast Conference play.
NICE TOUCH
BC’s players wore shooting T-shirts with the name of a fallen soldier on the back.
Christian held one up before his postgame press conference started and said: “For me it was more important than any message we could send in the game today for our appreciation and thanks on Veterans Day.”
He also gave the players bios to read about each soldier. He said the idea was created by his assistant, Billy Wuczynski.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Bowman was honored before the game with a brief on-court ceremony for reaching the 1,000-point club late last season. He is the 43rd player in school history to reach that mark.
SPARSE GATHERING
As expected with a non-marquee opponent, the NFL’s Patriots on TV at the same time and, especially, after BC hosted No. 2 Clemson in a nationally-televised game night game Saturday, there was a small crowd on hand for the game, part of the Fort Myers Tip-off.
UP NEXT
St. Francis: At Richmond for an 11 a.m. tipoff on Wednesday.
Boston College: Hosts IUPUI at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
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