Donald Hand Jr. put up five points in the first 1:13 of Boston College men’s basketball’s game against Le Moyne on Sunday, sinking a layup off a Dolphin turnover then hitting a three on his first attempt of the afternoon. For the next 18:47, however, the junior scored just three points.
Fred Payne scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the first 20 minutes of play, but the Eagles were holding onto a slim 30–29 lead heading into the half. Thankfully for BC (7–6), Hand was due for a second-half resurgence.
He scored 18 points in the second half, and the Eagles earned a 72–64 win over Le Moyne (5–8) in BC’s final non-conference matchup of the season.
Payne scored 10 straight points for the Eagles after Hand’s early contributions, including back-to-back 3-pointers to put BC up 15–9 about seven minutes into the game. Shilo Jackson was battling for the Dolphins, however. He scored 14 of his team’s first 24 points, then hit a free throw to tie the game 25–25 with 3:47 left in the first period.
Hand responded with a three and Jason Asemota hit two free throws, but Deng Garang made a fast-break layup to cut BC’s lead to one at halftime.
The second half started off just like the first one did, as Hand hit a layup then drew a shooting foul and sank both free throws. His fast-break layup, followed by a three from Payne, put BC up 41–34 five minutes into the second half.
Le Moyne went on a quick 6–2 run, however, then tied the game at 43 with a three. Freshman Caleb Steger responded with a three of his own, reestablishing the Eagles’ lead, but BC could not get rid of the Dolphins.
Garang hit two free throws after he was fouled on a fast break, giving his team a 49–48 lead. The Dolphins hit another three 34 seconds later, extending that lead to four.
It was another three from Hand that tied things up once again—this time at 55 all, as Boden Kapke got a defensive rebound and Payne swung it to Hand for the game-tying jumper. Chase Forte got a steal shortly after, which led to a dunk from Kapke that swung the momentum in the Eagles’ direction.
Payne hit a three with 5:27 left to give BC a five-point lead, but Tennessee Rainwater immediately responded on the other end to cut that advantage back to two. Hand hit a layup and neither team scored for nearly two minutes, until Jayden Hastings grabbed a Hand miss and made a put-back, putting BC up 64–58 with 2:50 to play.
Forte grabbed another steal and finished on the other end, and Payne hit a free throw with a minute left to make it a nine-point game.
It wasn’t over yet, though. Le Moyne went on a 6–0 run and suddenly it was 67–64 with 32 seconds to play, with the game still very much in reach for the Dolphins.
The Eagles clamped down on defense, however. Hand and Steger hit a combined five free throws and BC held Le Moyne scoreless for the remainder of the game, giving the Eagles a 72–64 win and sending them into conference play on a winning streak.