It was a satisfying victory for Boston College on Sunday, as the Men’s Basketball team defeated the Le Moyne Dolphins 72-64.
The Eagles emphasized on getting decent looks early in the game. Donald Hand Jr scored a quick 5 points to start the game off. Fred Payne scored a pair of baskets and BC took a 9-2 lead early.
Le Moyne couldn’t find any rhythm to start, even with a few second chances from offensive rebounds. They managed to score from pushing the ball down the court fast on transition points
and open looks. Fred Payne responded with back to back three’s, and Boston College led 15-9 with 12:57 to go in the first half.
Points started to come for the Dolphins and they took an 18-15 lead from an open made three by Tennessee Rainwater and Shilo Jackson making a 13 foot jumper. They tightened up on defense and made life difficult for the Eagles to score. BC began drawing a good amount of fouls which slowed the game down to their advantage.
The first half started a back and forth affair with neither team gaining much of an upper edge. Le Moyne relied heavily on Jackson to pound the ball inside and score, while Payne and Hand Jr keeping the game afloat on BC’s end as the duo combined for 23 of the team’s 30 points. The Eagles led 30-29 at halftime.
Boston College started the second half by tightening up on defense. In transition they generated good ball movement which allowed Payne and Hand Jr to score at ease. Just when it looked like the Eagles were starting to pull, away, the Dolphins scored on their next 3 possessions. It was 43-39 with 13:00 to go.
Both teams were trading away baskets from 13:00 to 9:45. Le Moyne grabbed the lead back after a pair of made free throws, 49-48. They followed up with a made three and took a 52-48 lead, closing in on an 18-7 run.
A Jayden Hastings layup and made FT’s by Hand Jr kept the game from getting too out of hand. They forced the Dolphins away from the 3 point line and generated enough stops to steal the game’s momentum. A Boden Kapke dunk followed by a Payne made three had the Conte Forum cheering loud. Boston College led 59-55 with 5:27 to go.
Two traded baskets had the Eagles leading 62-58. Hastings made a contested layup, and a Chase Forte steal-and-score put BC up 66-58.
Time was not on Le Moyne’s side as they began fouling. The Eagles didn’t capitalize on the free throws which allowed Le Moyne to cut the BC lead to three. Hand Jr and Caleb Steger iced the game by making five late free throws with 5.9 seconds to go. Time expired with BC winning the game.
Hand Jr led all scorers with 26 points and 7 rebounds on 8-19 shooting. Payne added 22 points of his own, and Jayden Hastings scored 8 points with 3 key blocks.
BC travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday, January 3rd as the conference games begin. Tip off is at 2:00 pm ET.
