Basketball
Payne’s Career Night Wasted as Turnovers Doom Eagles Against NC State
Heading into Tuesday night’s game against NC State, Fred Payne was coming off one of the worst performances of his collegiate career, as he scored only two points in garbage-time in BC basketball’s loss to Georgia Tech.
Payne certainly didn’t let that ugly performance linger, as the redshirt sophomore finished with a career-high 24 points on Tuesday, preventing the Eagles from getting blown out in their ACC home opener.
“Fred responded,” BC head coach Earl Grant said after the game. “He was ready to play. He had great emotional intelligence. He was confident.”
Not every Eagle, however, was ready to play, as BC (7–8, 0–2 ACC) turned the ball over a season-high 16 times while allowing NC State (11–5, 2–1) to shoot 13-of-22 from behind the arc, resulting in a 79–71 loss at Conte Forum.
Donald Hand Jr., who finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, committed six of BC’s turnovers. While his 50 percent field goal percentage was the highest clip he’s shot in any game this season, the Wolfpack’s constant full-court pressure hounded Hand all game.
“We got sped up a couple of times,” Hand said. “Sometimes we were trying to make the right play too much, and it resulted in a turnover.”
Grant emphasized how not all of BC’s turnovers were a result of NC State’s press. Instead, he thinks the Eagles made too many wrong decisions in the paint when they were driving to the basket.
“Some of those decisions we made underneath the free throw line weren’t the right decisions,” Grant said.
Twelve of BC’s 16 turnovers came in the first half, which once again saw the Eagles start slowly and trail 40–32 at halftime.
But the Eagles wouldn’t go away in the second half, as Payne and center Boden Kapke, who was making his first start of the season, combined for 13 of BC’s first 16 points of the half to bring BC within just four points with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
“Trying to help our team offensively,” Grant said regarding inserting Kapke into the starting lineup. “We have struggled a few times offensively, so we made a change. He gave us a little bit more offensive firepower.”
Kapke finished with eight points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.
After Payne made his free throw for his 22nd point of the night to cut the lead to four, he was subbed out about a minute later, and BC’s offense quickly faltered. When he was subbed back in about four minutes later, the Wolfpack had extended their lead to a 62–53 advantage.
Despite being back on the court, the Eagles’ offense completely shifted away from Payne, as he took only three more shots in the remaining seven minutes of the game, one shot coming in garbage time.
NC State’s 3-point shooting ability proved too lethal, as BC’s soft defense allowed for the Wolfpack to get comfortable from behind the arc and put the game out of reach.
Darrion Williams, who finished with 22 points, nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the night with three minutes remaining to put NC State ahead 73–61, a lead the Wolfpack would not give up.
“We lost the shooters a couple times late,” Grant said. “We just got to keep working, try to figure out how to take an offensive performance like tonight and match it with the defense that we’re capable of playing.”
Despite the loss, Grant was impressed by how his team showed up and responded after the messy first half.
“The positive is, we got a bunch of high character guys,” Grant said. “Your character kind of reveals how you respond to things that happened to you.”
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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