Donald Hand Jr. collected 20 points and seven rebounds on Saturday, helping Boston College earn a 69-54 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Chad Venning added 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks as the Eagles (12-15, 4-12 ACC) won their second straight game.
Baye Ndongo led Georgia Tech (13-14, 7-9) with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Lance Terry chipped in 15 points. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 13 times and shot 32.1 percent from the field while making just 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) 3-point attempts.
Leading 32-27 at halftime, Boston College began the second half on a 10-0 run — including eight straight points from Venning — to push its lead to 15 with 14:45 remaining. Georgia Tech was held without a second-half field goal until Ndongo’s layup at the 13:45 mark, which trimmed its deficit to 44-31.
Elijah Strong’s jumper put the Eagles ahead 46-33 with just over 13 minutes left. The hosts missed eight of their next nine shots before Venning’s layup gave Boston College a 51-40 lead with 6:30 left.
Still trailing by 11 after Dion Brown’s three-point play for the Eagles, Georgia Tech answered with a 7-2 spurt to pull within 56-50 on Naithan George’s triple.
Boston College led 58-52 before it iced the game with a 9-0 run, stamped with Hand’s 3-pointer to extend the lead to 67-52 with just over a minute remaining.
Hand’s first 3-pointer gave Boston College an early 8-3 edge before Ndongo’s five straight points knotted the score at the 15:34 mark.
Boston College regained the lead after triples from Josh Beadle and Hand, grabbing a 19-14 advantage with 9:53 left. The Eagles connected on seven of their first 14 3-pointers, including a pair of treys from Strong — the second giving Boston College a 25-18 lead.
Boston College’s eighth triple of the first half came from Hand, extending its lead to 31-25, before the Eagles took a five-point cushion into halftime. Hand and Ndongo led their respective sides with 13 first-half points apiece.
–Field Level Media
