UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Boston College did not have enough offense to overtake Texas Tech Saturday and had no answer for Keenan Evans, who scored 18 of his 29 points in the second half to power the Red Raiders to a 75-64 victory in a Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
“He was the difference,’’ BC coach Jim Christian said of Evans. “His ability to drive and create foul opportunities really hurt us.’’
Evans’s most damaging field goal came on a drive with 1 minute 26 seconds remaining to put the Red Raiders ahead, 69-64.
The loss sent BC (3-1) to the consolation game of the Naismith bracket Sunday at 3 p.m. against La Salle, which lost to 20th-ranked Northwestern, 82-74.
The Eagles knew Texas Tech (3-0) would be a difficult opponent because of its physicality and ability to score in the lane. Texas Tech outscored the BC, 42-28, in the paint.
“Part of our identity is we have to manufacture some points off the glass,’’ Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said.
Texas Tech also outscored BC in bench points, 28-6.
Ky Bowman scored 15 points for BC, Nik Popovic contributed 12, and Jordan Chatman had 11. Popovic and Steffon Mitchell each had seven rebounds.
Texas Tech swarmed Bowman when he touched the ball. The sophomore guard was 7 of 18 from the floor and just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. He and backcourt mate Jerome Robinson (10 points) shot a combined 10 of 26.
“They were very aggressive and took us out of many things,’’ said Christian, whose team committed 18 turnovers.
An 11-0 run provided Texas Tech with a 25-13 advantage. The Eagles responded by switching from man-to-man to a 2-3 matchup zone.
BC surged ahead, 31-30, as Deontae Hawkins scored 8 points in the spurt, but the Red Raiders closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 36-31 lead into the break.
The Eagles were weakened when Robinson was whistled for his fourth foul (on a charge) and went to the bench with 13:57 to play. He returned with 8:39 remaining and the Eagles trailing, 55-47.
Bowman credited the Red Raiders’ defense, which was primarily man-to-man.
“They made us get out of some of our sets,’’ he said. “As it was, they have very aggressive players.’’
One example of that was Hawkins (10 points) being held scoreless in the second half.
BC led for only 2:32 in the game, but it did not wither. Chatman’s corner three cut the Texas Tech lead to 59-56 with 6:18 left. However, that was BC’s last 3-pointer of the day as the Eagles finished 3 of 19 from deep.
BC’s last viable threat came when Mitchell was fouled with 1:39 to play. He made the first free throw to make it 67-64, but missed the second, and he also misfired on a 3-pointer on BC’s next possession after Evans converted a layup.
Evans concluded his big game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds. He finished 9 of 16 from the field and 10 of 10 from the line.
“We fouled late in the clock; we cut it to 1 or 2, [then] turn it over or didn’t block out,’’ Christian said. “We’re going have to grow if we want to win games against good teams. And obviously [the Red Raiders] are a very good team.’’
