Eagles soar past St. Francis Brooklyn 75-49

BOSTON (AP) Eli Carter knows he needs to lead in a lot of different ways for a very young Boston College team to have success.

If his first game is an example, the eight freshman Eagles have a good role model.

Graduate transfer Carter scored 23 points and freshman Jerome Robinson had 19 with six rebounds and five assists to lead Boston College to a 75-49 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday in the season opener for both schools.

''On our roster, we have two fifth-year guys, Garland Owens (a junior) and eight guys that just played their first Division I game,'' BC coach Jim Christian said before turning his praise on Carter. ''He's invaluable in a lot of different ways. I thought he played the game right today - made a lot of good decisions with the ball and didn't force things.''

Carter, a 6-foot-2 guard who played at Rutgers and Florida, was 10 of 19 from the floor, nailing two from beyond 3-point range. He added seven rebounds. Seven-footer Dennis Clifford grabbed 11 rebounds and scored seven points.

''This is my third first game in three different schools,'' Carter said. ''I got up early this morning for shootaround - and got here like an hour early.''

Dagur Jonsson led St. Francis with 12 points. The Terriers shot just 27.9 percent (17 of 61), missing 18 of 24 on 3-point attempts.

''You've got to learn from these type of games,'' St. Francis coach Glenn Braica said. ''You have to learn. We've got a lot of new guys, and we're nowhere near where we need to be. We've got a lot of improving to do.''

Boston College led 41-16 at halftime and opened its largest lead of the game, 57-29, on Carter's 3 from the left corner 4 minutes into the second half.

The Eagles scored the game's initial 13 points and built a 32-9 lead late in the opening half. Carter and Robinson combined for BC's first nine points. They each scored 11 as BC built its 23-point bulge.

The Terriers missed their first 14 shots from the field before Jon Doss hit a 3-pointer 12:22 into the game.

The Eagles shot 51.6 percent from the floor in the first half (16 of 31).

TIP-INS

St. Francis: The Terriers shot just 17.2 percent (5 of 29) in the first half and committed 10 turnovers. ... The Terriers are the defending Northeast Conference regular-season champions, but they have never earned an NCAA Tournament berth since the modern Division I was created in 1948.

Boston College: The Eagles have seven true freshmen and redshirt freshman this season, losing 84 percent of their scoring and 79 percent of the minutes from last season's squad that went 13-19 and 4-14 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. ... Christian began his second season as head coach. ... The Eagles improved to 7-3 all-time against St. Francis.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

''The concern is eight guys going on out there for the first time,'' Christian said of his team. ''It's different when the lights go on and their families are here.''

THAT SMILE SAYS IT ALL

Carter couldn't hold back from smiling when asked how hard it is not to get frustrated with the young guys.

''It's very hard, but I'm learning,'' he said, smiling before answering. ''It's a new role for me. Coach is always getting on me. It's a new challenge that I'm more than willing to accept.''

WHAT'S NEXT

St. Francis: Hosts Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday.

Boston College: Hosts Central Connecticut on Thursday.