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BC Takes the Battle of Commonwealth

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – BC’s Money Williams had a game-high 35 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead his Eagles to a 71-55 win over University of Massachusetts in Friday’s Hall of Fame Series contest in Boston.

First-year coach Luke Murray’s Eagles (2-0) shot just 37.3% from the field and 3-of-27 from 3-point range, but a game-ending 16-4 run broke open a four-point game with 5:35 remaining.

Williams scored 21 in the first half before sinking two late 3-pointers — including one with 4:37 left as part of a 7-0 run — to break his team’s 0-for-7 drought from distance to begin the second half.

The Montana transfer also finished 13-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Zak Smrekar added 12 points, including eight after halftime, and Brandon Benjamin finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for Boston College.

Dwayne Wimbley Jr. led UMass (1-1) with 15 points and added six boards, while Abdullah Ahmed scored 12.

UMass led for much of the first half after an early 11-2 run produced an 11-4 lead in the first 3:40. Wimbley’s five straight points, including one of his two corner threes in the half, highlighted that stretch.

Despite starting 0-for-10 from 3-point range, Boston College climbed back into it with two Benjamin baskets during a quick 6-1 run, and Williams scored on a spin-move layup inside for his second of back-to-back finishes to make it 18-16 Minutemen halfway through the period.

The Minutemen did lead by five on Junjie Wang’s second-chance make with 6:22 left before halftime, but a 7-0 run saw Smrekar hit a game-tying trey and Williams put down a layup to flip the score in the Eagles’ favor less than two minutes later.

Ahmed, whose free throw brought UMass within 37-35 at halftime, started the second half with a game-tying basket. The Eagles, however, separated during a 10-0 run, forcing a timeout after Benjamin’s reverse layup with 16:12 to go. Williams also set up the Fairfield transfer for a two-handed dunk during that sequence.

Smrekar’s jumper extended the Boston College lead to double digits before a Williams layup answered Noa Zemljic’s 3-pointer, which ended a nearly five-minute UMass scoring drought.

After two Williams free throws capped another 6-1 run, Wimbley’s second-chance layup capped an 8-0 spurt that brought the Minutemen within 55-51.

–Field Level Media