Newark, N.J. —The Never Forget Tribute Classic was held in cooperation with the Never Forget Fund, supporting educational programs and helping preserve the 9/11 Memorial & Museum as a sacred place of remembrance, reflection, and learning for the new generation. Boston College donned their new Red Bandana basketball jersey for the contest, a tribute to 9/11 hero and BC alum Welles Crowther.
Freshman Cam Whitmore poured in 19 points and grabbed seven boards off the bench, leading Villanova to a 77-56 victory over Boston College in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
Whitmore, playing his third game after missing the month of November with a broken thumb, hit 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-6 3-pointers, and made 6-of-8 free throws. Armstrong, making his third start, had season highs of 13 points and seven rebounds. He made 3 of 5 3-pointers.
“I’ve been itching to play, itching to help the team out in any type of way possible, defensive end and offensive end,” Whitmore said. “That’s what we did, we got the job done and we got a blowout win.”
Today’s game marked the 79th meeting between the schools. The Eagles is 24-54 all-time vs Villanova , dating back to 1945-46.
From 1979-2005, the Eagles went 181-221 in Big East conference play and they were Big East Champions in 1997 and 2001.
The Eagles started out sluggish on offense and missed a lot of open shots. The Wildcats got out to an early advantage in the first half, leading by double digits within 10 minutes making use of the three point line. Villanova hit 53% of their shots from beyond the arc in the first half, going 8/15.
BC fought and kept it competitive in the half, trimming the lead to three points at one point, but Villanova went into the break leading 40-30.
The second half was back-and-forth for a while with Villanova maintaining a 13 point lead for most of the half. The Wildcats leading 56-46 near the 9-minute mark of the second half, Mark Armstrong hit a deep trey that began a 9-0 run that also included five points by Whitmore on a 3-pointer and a dunk. The lead ballooned from there and twice reached 24 points, the first when Brendan Hausen hit a 3-pointer with 4:45 to go and they never looked back after that.
The Boston College Eagles were led by Mason Madsen who finished with 13 points, four assists, and three rebounds. DeMarr Langford Jr chipped in 13 points on 6-13 shooting from the floor.
Villanova returns to action on the road to play Saint Joseph’s in its final Big 5 game of the season. The road game is set to tip next Saturday at 4 p.m.
Boston College next hosts Stonehill in Conte Forum on Tuesday December 13th.
