Who would win: 5 Steph Currys or one Strong boi
Fresh off of their big win in the Cayman Islands Classic on Tuesday, the Boston College men’s basketball team traveled back home to face off against the Dartmouth Big Green on Black Friday afternoon in Conte Forum. It was clear from the start that BC’s team was tired, as they had just flown back from the Cayman Islands and were playing their 4th game in 6 days, a self-inflicted scheduling wound. Dartmouth took advantage by raining down threes on the slow-moving Eagles, eventually claiming the upset win over BC, 88-83.
It was a sloppy game from the start for BC, as Dartmouth nailed 7 of their first 12 three-point attempts and BC turned the ball over 8 times in the first half. The Big Green surprisingly maintained a lead for a large chunk of time, given how heavily favored BC was coming into this game. But a late Eagles 11-0 surge got Dartmouth into foul trouble and BC claimed a 44-42 lead going into halftime, in large part due to Chad Venning’s defensive effort and presence in the paint. But it was still concerning to see the lack of defensive concentration from Boston College overall after giving up so many wide-open threes and lay-ups in transition. The Eagles would’ve been trailing if it wasn’t for Josh Beadle’s impressive buzzer-beater three at the end of the half.
Dartmouth would not let up on the threes in the second half, and actually improved their shooting performance. Coming out of the break, they immediately ripped a streak of 6/10 shooting from behind the arc to take a 10-point lead halfway through the second half. BC, meanwhile, was shooting around 25% from three and could hardly keep pace as Chad Venning and company tried their best by bullying the Big Green in the paint. Boston College’s players looked tired from the long week of travel from the Cayman Islands and it clearly showed in their lack of defensive effort.
Elijah Strong took it upon himself to start scoring for BC, aggressively attacking the paint and drawing several foul calls that got him to the free throw line to keep the Eagles in the game. It seemed to bring some new life to the team as they began to fight a bit harder down low and finally fully took advantage of their athletic superiority over the Ivy League squad, drawing closer and closer. Dartmouth kept shooting threes to stave them off, but BC managed to climb into striking distance by the final possession, just needing one stop and one score to tie or win the game while trailing by two points. But Elijah Strong committed a late foul that sent the Big Green to the free throw line, where they were able to gain a 4-point lead, and then the Eagles turned the ball over and fouled on their next possession to seal the game.
Dartmouth ended the game with 51 of their 88 points having been scored from beyond the arc, shooting 17/31 (55%) on the game. It was an absolute three-point shooting clinic in Boston that is usually reserved for the Celtics these days. Boston College plays their next game on Tuesday night against South Carolina for the ACC/SEC Challenge.