BC AND SLU OPEN GOTHAM CLASSIC WITH WINS

Home teams Boston College and Saint Louis opened the eighth annual Gotham Classic with wins.

In Chestnut Hill, Boston College used a 21-0 run to break the game open against High Point, as the Eagles took a 59-33 decision.

Jay Heath led three BC players in double figures with 14 points. Jared Hamilton had 12 points, while Steffon Mitchell logged his first double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

BC led 31-18 after a Hamilton dunk with 44 seconds remaining in the first half, and kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for the next 10:26. A Luka Kraljevic layup gave BC its largest lead of the night – 34 points – holding a 52-18 lead with 9:39 to play in the game.

The Eagles scored the first 10 points of the game, capped by a Mitchell layup with 16:48 to go in the first half.  High Point responded with a 14-6 run, making it a two-point ball game – 16-14 – with 6:27 left in the period. The Eagles dialed up its defensive pressure to close the half on a 17-4 run and took a 33-18 lead into intermission.

The Panthers received 10 points from Denny Slay.

In St. Louis, the Billikens shot 69.6 percent from the field in the second half and pulled away with an 82-60 victory over Eastern Washington.

Hasahn French scored a game-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals. Fred Thatch Jr. tossed in 11 points and tied Jordan Goodwin for team-high rebounding honors with seven boards.

Yuri Collins dished out a game- and career-high 11 assists while committing just two turnovers. Tay Weaver tallied nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

Kim Aiken Jr. led Eastern Washington with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Mason Peatling and Tyler Kidd scored 10 points apiece.

SLU finished 31-of-54 (57.4 percent) from the field following its torrid second-half performance. The Billikens were 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from 3-point distance.

Eastern Washington led 6-3, but Goodwin tied it with a trey and put Saint Louis on top for good with a free throw 20 seconds later.

An 8-2 spurt gave the Billikens their first double-digit lead, 22-12, at the 5-minute mark of the first half. The Eagles narrowed the gap to seven, 24-17, but Weaver nailed two triples in the last 1:09 to power SLU to a 36-24 halftime advantage.

The Bills began the second half on a 9-0 run to establish a 45-24 cushion. EWU drew no closer than 14 points the rest of the way, while Saint Louis led by as many as 28.

The Gotham Classic resumes Saturday with Boston College hosting Belmont.