Basketball
Recap: Eagles Open the Season with a 69-60 win over The Citadel
Photo Courtesy of BC Athletics
The Boston College Eagles came into this game against the Citadel with a whole cast of new players, with four transfers, three freshman, and two sophomores that did not play at all last season. With all this roster turnover, there were bound to be some growing pains, and tonight’s season opener put those pains on full display.
After 18 minutes of play, the Eagles allowed The Citadel to hang around, leading the Bulldogs just 27-25, looking sloppy while doing it. It was obvious, almost painfully so, that this new group had almost no live reps together. However, the game took a bit of a turn, when transfer Chad Venning threw down a thunderous slam, and fellow transfers Josh Beadle and Roger McFarlane connected on an alley oop in transition.
The Eagles finished the first half on a 10-3 run, going into the locker room with a 37-28 lead. And coming out of the locker room, those same transfers picked up right where they left off, with Venning and McFarlane combining for a quick 6-0 run, pushing the Eagles’ lead to 15 points. However, this 15-point lead became 12 points, and then that 12-point lead became a 9-point lead. And all of the sudden, the Citadel was right back in tonight’s game. Grant attributed this shift in momentum to some block/charge foul calls that went against the Eagles.
Thankfully, sophomore guard Donald Hand Jr. came up big in just the right moments, scoring 17 of his 22 points in the second half. While he scored his 22 points on 4-14 shooting, his aggression on the offensive end was rewarded with 11 free throws, converting on all 11. The aforementioned Venning finished with 15 points of his own, and sophomore forward Elijah Strong finished with 11.
Notably absent from the scoring column was junior guard Chas Kelley III, who finished with 0 points on four shots, pulled down five rebounds, and dished out a single assist. If the Eagles want to be competitive against stiffer competition, Coach Grant will need to find a way to get Kelley III more involved in the offense.
Lastly, star transfer Dion Brown scored just 5 points in his 17 minutes on the court for the Eagles. Many expected Brown to be a regular starter, and possibly the Eagles’ leading scorer. The junior guard was dealing with a broken nose sustained in practice, and Grant indicated that his lack of playing time reflected his inability to fully practice the past few days. Grant mentioned he had little to no concerns about Brown’s condition going forward.
The Eagles return to action on Friday, when they will play the VCU Rams in Annapolis at the Naval Academy. VCU opened their season with an 84-65 win against Bellarmine, so it will be a clash of 1-0 teams at Navy. The A-10 opponent should pose a much tougher challenge than The Citadel, and the Eagles frankly will have to be better if they hope to contend for a 2-0 record.
As always, follow along with Eagles Daily for all things BC Basketball! Go Eagles!
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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