PROVIDENCE – While he would’ve preferred a celebration, Sharaud Curry used the moments after last night’s loss to Boston College as a teaching moment.

The Friars’ fifth-year senior guard said he made sure to tell his teammates, many of whom were playing a marquee opponent at home for the first time, that they paid dearly for not playing with enough intensity right out of the gate. That lapse helped Boston College to its 82-77 win.

“We came out, for whatever reason, and didn’t play well,” said Curry. “They came out hard and got us on the rebounds and that really hurt us. We dug ourselves a big hole. I was just telling the guys that we can’t do that. The games are about to get tougher and we have to come out right from the jump with very high intensity.”

The first half was a house of horrors for the Friars. BC dominated the paint to a head-shaking degree, scoring 38 of their 42 points in the lane and cleaning the glass to the tune of 28-16. While the bigger, stronger Eagles were a major concern for coach Keno Davis, the coach said keeping them off the boards was easier said than done.

“That’s what Boston College does,” said Davis. “There is a reason they beat Duke and North Carolina and got to the NCAA Tournament. They’re very good in their half court sets, they’re physical, they run good offense and execute well. We knew that going in and if it got into a half court game, we’d be in trouble.”

PC’s Marshon Brooks did not respond well to the game’s more physical nature. Brooks shot 0-for-6 in the opening half. He bounced back to make five of his seven second half shots and finish with 16 points.

“We came out without intensity. It wasn’t enough from the beginning,” said Brooks. “I wasn’t going hard enough. I played 30 minutes and had four rebounds. That can’t happen.”

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The Friars received what appeared to be a fortunate break entering the game when BC’s Joe Trapani was slowed by flu-like symptoms. Trapani, BC’s leading scorer at 15.2 points a game, didn’t exactly play like he was off his game. He scored eight points in the first half and finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds.

“He was in bed all day,” said coach Al Skinner. “It showed a lot of toughness on his part. He was definitely struggling.”

With Trapani slowed, the Eagles felt the absence of Rakim Sanders even more. Sanders, the Pawtucket resident and former St. Andrews’ star, injured his ankle after playing just four minutes against Saint Joseph’s last week at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas. Sanders had missed the team’s first two games due to an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Sanders had started all 65 games in his first two seasons with Boston College. He’s averaged 12.1 points in his career. Sophomore Reggie Jackson, a 6-3 guard, has started in Sanders’ spot. Jackson set career-highs against Saint Joe’s with 18 points and 11 rebounds and looked very good against the Friars with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.

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PC center Bilal Dixon fouled out for the third time this season. He also was disqualified in the close win over Mercer and narrow loss at Alabama. Dixon is staying on the floor longer, however. He lasted 17 minutes against Mercer and 14 against the Crimson Tide but played 28 minutes and was very productive with 10 points and 9 rebounds against BC.

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PC is back in action this week with two tough road games. The Friars will travel to Northeastern for the first time since 1931 on Tuesday to face the Huskies. Northeastern (2-2) threw in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to beat Wright State, 70-67, on Saturday. The Friars then travel to the Ryan Center on Saturday to face unbeaten Rhode Island.

kmcnamar@projo.com