(Photo credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images)
After a bumpy start to the season, Boston College hopes to travel down a smoother path beginning with Tuesday's game against visiting Hampton in Chestnut Hill, Mass.The Eagles (2-2) have lost to Florida Atlantic and Central Connecticut, although they did bounce back with a victory each time. Now they are looking to post back-to-back wins for the first time this season, although they certainly know not to take anything for granted.'When you're on a journey and you deal with adversity and disappointment and setbacks, you never know how the team's gonna respond,' BC coach Earl Grant said after Saturday's 76-71 win over Temple. 'Specifically, when you have a team that's forming -- this team hasn't been together, so with the blend of the new guys and the returners, they try to find a way to win.'Donald Hand (16.8 points per game) paced the Eagles with 18 points and 11 rebounds against the Owls. However, he shot just 5-of-15 from the floor and has yet to shoot above 36 percent in any of the team's four games.Still, he'll definitely be a focal point of the defensive game plan for Hampton (2-3), which has also alternated between losses and wins over its first five games.Part of the Pirates' early-season slate was another road game against an ACC foe. They traveled to face Virginia and trailed 47-19 at halftime en route to a 91-53 defeat.Hampton bounced back to defeat Brown in its next game before falling to visiting Holy Cross 67-61 on Sunday. The Pirates shot just 37% from the field in that one and missed 15 of their 20 attempts from 3-point range.Xzavier Long led the way with 21 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Josh Ogundele added 10 points, but the other three Hampton starters combined for three points on 1-of-10 shooting from the floor.'Year 2 looks like just continuing to build a culture,' Hampton coach Ivan Thomas said earlier this month. 'We're just trying to put out a product every year of energy, effort, enthusiasm and toughness.'
--Field Level Media













