On Saturday afternoon after the Boston College football team played in the Pinstripe Bowl, BC men’s basketball had a game of their own as they hosted Fairleigh Dickinson in a 78-70 win at Conte Forum.
The game started out well for the Eagles and they quickly gained a lead that they would never relinquish. Donald Hand and Chad Venning scored some early baskets against a weak FDU defense that struggled to get stops early, gashing them in the paint and even hitting a few shots from beyond the arc. Meanwhile the Eagles forced missed shots and turnovers that caused FDU to go on a several minute stretch in which they only scored two points to open the first half. BC’s lead was 16-7 early in the contest.
From there, things were pretty even, but FDU never garnered enough momentum to overtake BC’s lead. Donald Hand continued his hot streak and ended the game with 29 points, mostly by getting into the paint and drawing some physical contact. Venning continued his good game as well, posting up FDU’s smaller defenders and converting his baskets at a high rate.
With FDU’s Terrence Brown struggling from the three-point line and only their guard Ahmed Barba-Bey really making an impact, Boston College held strong on defense and rode their way to a win that never really felt in doubt despite the close-ish score.
Next up for the Eagles is a match-up with Miami on January 1st at Conte Forum at 12pm.