Basketball
Boston College snaps 8-game losing streak with dramatic 68–67 win over Wake Forest
CHESTNUT HILL, MASS – For weeks, Boston College had found new ways to lose close games. On Wednesday night at Conte Forum, the Eagles finally found a way to win one.
Boston College defeated Wake Forest 68–67, ending an eight-game losing streak and delivering a dramatic finish that felt unfamiliar in Chestnut Hill.
The night began slowly, fitting for two teams searching for rhythm. In a sparsely attended Conte Forum after the game was rescheduled due to a recent blizzard in Boston, both offenses sputtered early. Wake Forest built a 19–13 lead midway through the first half, while BC struggled from beyond the arc, starting just 1-for-13 from three.
Donald Hand Jr. checked into the game early in the first half for the first time since suffering a leg injury against Stanford on Feb. 11. He scored immediately and looked sharp, providing a lift as the Eagles battled to keep the deficit manageable.
Wake Forest carried a 29–22 advantage into halftime, but the second half belonged to Boston College, at least for a stretch.
Fred Payne opened the period with a three and a dunk, igniting a 13–2 run that flipped the game. Payne poured in 11 points in the first five minutes of the half, and BC surged ahead 40–32 midway through the second. The Eagles extended the margin to double digits at one point and appeared to have seized control.
But this season has rarely followed a clean script.
Wake Forest clawed back late, trimming the lead possession by possession. With under a minute remaining, the Demon Deacons stole the ball and hit a three to take a 67–66 lead with 18 seconds left. The feeling inside Conte was equal parts disbelief and déjà vu.
Boston College had been here before.
This time, the ending was different.
On the final possession, head coach Earl Grant put the ball in Payne’s hands, instructing him to attack the rim. Payne drove, missed the layup, but Aidan Shaw crashed the glass and tipped the ball back in for the game-winning bucket.
“I feel pretty good, just letting the game come to me,” Shaw said. “On the tip-in, the ball just came straight to me, so I did what I was supposed to do and just put it back in.”
He added, “End game scenario, got to crash the board with that much time left cause we were down one point, so we needed that, so I had to crash. It’s just what I do.”
Grant credited both preparation and trust.
“I thought the play that we ran, we ran it so many times over the last five days,” Grant said. “And I thought Fred, we wanted him to force the issue at the rim for a layup or a foul. And we had our two bigs crashing the glass.”
On keeping Shaw in the game during the closing minutes, Grant was heartfelt.
“I’m glad I kept Aidan in. He’s a great human being. So, I thank God that he’s here with us. He is a great human being. He’s an everyday guy and he’s a better person than he is a player. So you pull for guys like that. He’s somebody you can count on.”
The victory was not flawless. Boston College nearly surrendered its double-digit second-half lead and gave up 16 points in the final 3:30. But after weeks of coming up short, this time the Eagles closed.
“Just happy that we were able to win the game, a close game,” Grant said. “Which is interesting that we’ve been in so many close games, but I’m glad we were able to execute at the end and find a way to get the win.”
Grant also addressed the broader narrative surrounding the program.
“I feel great. I’ve been here for 5 years. My job was to come rebuild the program. That’s what I did… We had great success, great wins, and now we’re navigating through a storm.”
For one night at least, the storm eased.
Boston College improved to 10–18 overall and 3–12 in ACC play. More importantly, they showed they could finish. After eight straight losses, that alone felt like progress.
For a team that has lived on heartbreak this season, Shaw’s tip-in felt like something more than two points. It felt like belief — restored, even if only for a night.
Mac Hutchinson, a columnist in Boston, is the Director of Digital Media for Eagles Daily, co-host of Eagles Weekly Podcast, and the founder of @BCFootballFans. He may be reached at mac@thinklyn.com
Basketball
Boston College lands one of nation’s top rebounders in Brandon Benjamin, along with former Charleston forward Colby Duggan
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.
Basketball
Former Merrimack sharpshooter Ernest Shelton commits to Boston College
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.
Basketball
Boston College lands Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel, first three transfer commitments of Luke Murray era
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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