Boston College used a second-half spark to come back and defeat New Haven, 67-63, Saturday afternoon on the Edgerley Family Court at Conte Forum. Fred Payne led all scorers with 18 points, while Donald Hand Jr. and Luka Toews combined for 25 points.
FIRST HALF
- Toews opened the scoring for BC with a 3-pointer at 16:56. Caleb Stegerfollowed with a driving layup at 16:11
- Jayden Hastingsadded a bucket to make it 17–9 New Haven, before New Haven extended its lead back to 10 halfway through the first
- The bench provided a spark, as a Jason Asemota 3-pointer and Chase Forte driving layup cut the deficit in half and forced a Chargers timeout
- Toews cut the lead down to two with a pair of free throws, but New Haven responded with an 11-0 run to make it 33-20
- BC would go into the half trailing 33-23
SECOND HALF
- BC opened the half on a 7-0 scoring run, highlighted by threes from Payne and Toews to make it a one-point game
- Payne’s second three of the half leveled the contest at 37-37 with 15:08 remaining. New Haven with an 8-2 run of their own to regain a five-point cushion
- At 8:34, the Eagles took their first lead with a pull-up three from Hand Jr. They would not give up the lead for the remainder of the game
- BC would gain a six-point edge before the Chargers stormed back to make it 59-60 with over a minute to go. Hand Jr. responded with a driving mid-range shot to give the hosts a three-point edge
- Both sides would trade free throws in the final minute of the contest, as BC held on for a 67-63 win
NOTABLES
- Fred Payne’s 18 points were a season high and matched a career high. He also set a new career-high in 3pt field goals (4) and matched a career-high in field goals made (7)
- Jason Asemota collected a team-high seven rebounds, a season-high
- Saturday’s win marks the first against New Haven in program history
- BC moves to 28-2 all-time against current NEC schools
WHAT’S NEXT
- Eagles will travel to the MassMutual Center for a midweek contest against UMass as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
- Tipoff is Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU
- Wednesday will mark the 48th all-time meeting between the Eagles and Minutemen
