CHESTNUT HILL - The final score certainly wasn't pretty, but the Boston College Eagles did receive a small victory with the return of freshman standout Patrick Heckmann, who missed the team's last game with a left ankle injury.
Heckmann scored 11 points on 1-of-3 shooting and made 9-of-12 free throws in 25 minutes in the Eagles' 82-46 loss to the UMass Minutemen on Monday night. In addition, Heckmann had a team-high four assists and also had five rebounds.
"I thought he played well, but he also had his moments where I think he's making really inexperienced plays, but I thought he competed for the most part, makes us a better team," said Eagles head coach Steve Donahue. "I think he's going to be a good basketball player when he gets seasoned and we probably saw moments of that tonight."
Heckmann also drew strong praise from former Boston College guard and a 1,000-point scorer Reggie Jackson, who was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft and was in attendance at Monday's game.
"I think he came in more advanced than anybody else," Jackson said. "He played overseas and he has a little toughness about him, but basically what separates him from the other freshman right now is how confident he is."
Heckmann has played in two games now, averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds.
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