For a team that planned on being in the tournament when the season began, the only acceptable response to the NC State loss was to hammer CCSU on Tuesday night,

The Eagles did just that.

The youngster Donald Hand Jr. led the way in a dominant 82-68 win. Hand Jr. had a career night with 16 points, three rebounds and two steals. Mason Madsen added 15 points, seven boards and four assists. Jaeden Zackery added 11 points, six assists and four steals. Quinten Post had 13 points, six rebounds and two assists.

As a team, BC was 50% from the field and 81% from the free throw line after an abysmal performance against the Wolfpack.

The Eagles are now 6-3 overall with Holy Cross visiting on Friday night before heading on the road for a matchup with Rick Pitino's St. John's Red Storm on Sunday on ESPN U.

"We put a lot into that (NC State) game, our guys played hard. That was tough. We lost the game and had a great crowd. So, I thought from an emotional standpoint we really showed up today," said head coach Earl Grant. "We really played the right way. We played with a lot of energy and toughness, shared the ball. And, most of the starters didn't play the last 14 minutes of the game, so...they did what they needed to do."

This one was out of hand quickly, as it should have been. BC clawed its way to a 7-4 lead after a Post dunk early before Madsen got hot from three with Post adding one as well to go up 18-8. Hand made it an 11-point game with a three before Armani Mighty, Zackery, McGlockton and even Elijah Strong all got involved, pushing it to 35-17 with under five left in the half. A 5-0 run from Madsen on free throws and a three gave the Eagles a 20-point lead (40-20) and a Zackery corner three at the buzzer gave BC a 49-23 lead at halftime.

"That was a hard one to sit with for two days," Madsen acknowledged talking about the NC State loss. "One that we felt like we should have had, but we realize the season is long and it's not going to be one game that defines us. So, for us to kind of come out and play our best ball right away, I think felt good and something we prepared for the last two days."

"Yeah, like what Mason said. We just had to bounce-back and continue to play BC basketball," added Hand Jr. "It's a long season. We can't let one game define us, we've just got to keep playing because we play them again in February, so it's not the end all be all."

Hand continued his nice night in the second half with back-to-back three's that made it 62-30 early on. CCSU cut it to 70-45 with 7:54 left, but Strong, Prince Aligbe Hand, Fred Payne and Madsen all contributed to the Eagles easily closing things out with little resistance from the Blue Devils. Grant emptied the bench with 1:20 to go and the Eagles up 84-59.

With another should-win game on tap Friday, the Eagles know how important it is to bank these early non-conference wins before the slugfest against ACC opponents opens up.

"It is something we've talked about and something a lot of us have been through," Madsen added. "I think you may take these games for granted if you haven't lost them before, but I think we've been on the losing side of a couple of those last year. So, obviously in the moment it feels like the end of the world, but we're better for it now.

"It's something we're definitely focused on."