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Boston College 78, Florida Atlantic 83: Eagles drop season opener in Overtime

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Boden Kapke and Donald Hand Jr. after extending BC's second-half lead (image courtesy of BC Athletics)
Boden Kapke and Donald Hand Jr. after extending BC's second-half lead (image courtesy of BC Athletics)

The Boston College Men’s Basketball team opened up their 2025-26 season down in Boca Raton, where they took on the Owls of Florida Atlantic University. Both teams in this matchup came into the game with a myriad of new faces, making for a fast-paced, but sloppy game on both ends. Coach Grant’s squad came up short in the opener, losing in overtime by a score of 83-78.

The rowdy FAU crowd, combined with the length and athleticism of the Owl’s new-look squad, caused the Eagles to get sped up early, leading to rushed possessions and poor shooting. FAU got off to a quick 23-13 lead in the first half, as BC converted on just 4 of their first 17 shot attempts. However, the Eagles eventually were able to find their own pace, cutting the FAU lead to just 35-31 at the halftime buzzer.

The second half saw a lot of back and forth action, as the Eagles could not quite gain control of the game. However, a flurry of threes from transfer center Boden Kapke, along with some timely buckets from Chase Forte, allowed the Eagles to take a 62-53 lead with five minutes to play in the contest.

However, the Owls did not go quietly, hitting corner threes on back-to-back possessions, cutting the deficit to just three points. Forte and Kapke held the Owls at bay with some clutch shot-making down the stretch, giving the Eagles a 66-61 lead with 1:15 to play. But, then disaster struck in the form of consecutive turnovers by Fred Payne and Kapke, leading to extra possessions for the Owls, who forced overtime thanks to a clutch three by FAU’s Yohann Sissoko with 31 seconds left. The Eagles were unable to get a shot to the rim in their final possession of regulation.

After struggling shooting just 4-14 from the field and an abysmal 5-11 from the foul line in regulation, Donald Hand Jr. finally showed some life offensively in the overtime period, converting on two three-pointers and a foul shot. However, Hand’s offense was not enough to hold the Owl’s back, who all of the sudden could not miss on offense, shooting 4-5 from the field in the period.

The Eagles will look to respond to this heartbreaker on Thursday night in Conte Forum, where they will face The Citadel. The Eagles have faced The Citadel in each of the last two seasons, winning 75-71 and 69-60 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. 

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Boston College lands one of nation’s top rebounders in Brandon Benjamin, along with former Charleston forward Colby Duggan

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Boston College received two more transfer commitments this weekend in Brandon Benjamin and Colby Duggan. Benjamin and Duggan join Money Williams, Ernest Shelton and JB Frankel as the fourth and fifth transfers to commit to Luke Murray and BC this offseason. The Eagles now have seven players on their roster, including international signing Zak Smrekar and Jack Bailey, the only BC player from last year not to enter the portal.

Benjamin, a 6-foot-8 forward from Newark, N.J., played his only collegiate season last year at Fairfield University. The rising sophomore was named to the 2025-26 MAAC All-Rookie Team and All-MAAC Second Team after averaging 14.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 56.5% from the field. Benjamin ranked first in the MAAC and eighth in the country in rebounds per game and second in the country in offensive rebounds per game (4.25).

“What made me pick BC first was the coaching staff,” Benjamin told ZAGSBLOG on Sunday. “It really felt like family. I will bring my high motor, plus rebounding, finishing around the rim and taking guys off the dribble. [I also bring] my catch-and-shooting, pick-and-pop, my winning impact and my versatility with guarding 1-5 with the ability to block shots.”

Duggan, a 6-foot-7 forward from Monson, Mass., averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 19 games for Charleston last season after missing the first part of the year with an injury. He spent the previous two seasons at Campbell University and averaged 15.7 points and 3.3 rebounds on 34% shooting from 3-point range during the 2024-25 season.

“He competes on both ends of the court at all times,” former Charleston head coach and current USF head coach Chris Mack said. “He’s a warrior. He’s a winner. Defensively, Colby doesn’t back down. He guards well in the post and on the perimeter. Offensively, he led the conference in scoring and is just scratching the surface of what he can be as a mismatch.”

Benjamin should slot into the starting lineup as the power forward or a small-ball big thanks to his impressive rebounding ability, while Duggan comes to BC as a depth piece off the bench.

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Former Merrimack sharpshooter Ernest Shelton commits to Boston College

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Guard Ernest Shelton announced his commitment to Boston College early Thursday night. The former Merrimack Warrior became the fourth transfer to commit to head coach Luke Murray and the Eagles, joining Zak Smrekar, Money Williams and JB Frankel. Shelton was named to the 2025-26 All-MAAC first team while helping lead the Warriors to a MAAC regular-season championship.

Shelton played two seasons at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, on the opposite side of the state from his hometown of Philadelphia, before transferring to Merrimack last offseason. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting 34.6% from behind the 3-point line.

“[Shelton]’s a shooter,” Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo said. “Every time it comes out of his hand, you think it’s going in.”

Shelton knocked down 99 3-pointers for Merrimack last season and was among the top 40 in the country in 3-pointers made per game (2.9). He set a career high last season with nine 3-pointers in a game against Boston University and made five or more 3-pointers in six games.

The sharpshooter is a breath of fresh air for a Boston College program that finished last in the ACC in 3-point percentage last season.


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Boston College lands Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel, first three transfer commitments of Luke Murray era

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Boston College received its first three transfer commitments of the 2026 transfer portal cycle on Thursday in Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel. Smrekar, Williams, and Frankel are the first three players to commit to BC since Luke Murray was named head coach on March 26 and join Jack Bailey as the only three players currently on the Eagles’ roster.

Smrekar is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-7 guard from Slovenia and was the first to commit to Murray. He played for the club Krka Novo Mesto in the Slovenian ABA for three seasons and averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15 games in the 2025-26 season. Smrekar also played for Slovenia in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup and averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in seven games.

Williams is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-4 guard who played the last three seasons for Montana. The Oakland, California, native was named to the 2025-26 All-Big Sky First Team after averaging 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game on 49.8% shooting from the field. Williams scored a career-high 40 points against Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Tournament, along with tallying six other 30-point games last season.

“I can’t come up with enough words to praise Money Williams properly,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said in October 2025. “When you talk about the young man that he is off the court, the young man he is when you bring him in the office, and you have real conversations with him and look him in the eye and talk about things that are hard to talk about.”

Frankel is a 21-year-old, 6-foot-3 guard who is not moving far, as he played the last three years at Northeastern. He started 13 of 30 games for the Huskies last season and averaged 5.9 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. The New York City native scored a season-high 13 points in a road win against Harvard.

Coach Murray will have to continue to build up the Eagles roster, but with three guards being picked up, look for the Eagles to hone in on finding their starting forwards and big men.

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