Career nights from Luka Toews and Caleb Steger came up big for Boston College basketball on Monday night, as the Eagles took down visiting Fairleigh Dickinson after they trailed 33–25 heading into halftime.
Toews shot 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-9 from behind the arc for 21 points, a career high. Steger poured in 12 points of his own including 3-of-5 shooting from three, and in just 14 minutes.
Coming off a loss to the Minutemen, the Eagles (6–6) started slow in their first contest in 12 days, missing their first four attempts from the field. But Toews had the hot hand, and that was enough to lift the Eagles over the Knights (3–9) 72–61.
“I thought tonight we needed to make a change,” BC head coach Earl Grant said, “Our backs were against the wall… but when you get in that situation, you got to figure out what to do.”
Toews dropped eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field in the first six minutes—including two 3-pointers. Toews headed to the bench shortly after his hot streak, however, allowing the Knights to storm back while the Eagles suffered a two-minute scoring drought.
“I was really focusing on the little things,” Toews said. “I was really trying to get us in the offense, doing my job, pushing the ball, and being a pest on defense.”
The Knights hit three straight shots from behind the arc after Toews subbed out, going on a 12–2 run to take a 26–15 with 8:03 to go in the first half. The Eagles struggled from the free throw line during that stretch. Those woes continued all night, as BC went 14-of-25 from the line.
The Knights started 8-of-14 from three, giving the Eagles problems from the start. Donald Hand Jr. was able to instill life back into the Eagles with his physicality, getting to the charity stripe six times and sinking 9-of-12.
While finishing with 13 points, Hand’s season-long shooting struggles continued as he went 0-of-4 from three and 2-of-9 from the field.
The Knights led the Eagles 33–25 at the half while shooting 40 percent from three and 41 percent from the field. One place the Eagles did shine was on the offensive boards, however. They grabbed 10 in the first half and 14 total.
After heading into the half down by eight, the Eagles were in need of a spark. Grant and his staff made second-half adjustments that provided a critical pivot for the Eagles as they began a comeback.
Most notably, the Eagles’ 3-point defense was far more effective, holding the Knights to 2-of-16 shooting from three in the second half.
“[FDU] made eight threes in the first half,” Grant said. “I thought we contested some, and then we took the threes away.”
The second half got off to a hot start, with the Knights and Eagles trading 3-point blows.
Sophomore guard Fred Payne put up seven points for BC to start the half. He had 11 on the night, with all of his points coming in the second half. The Eagles started 5-of-8 from the field, as Toews sank a three and Payne put up a quick seven points. Toews sank a second three in the half with 14:19 to play, cutting the Knights’ lead to 43–42.
Boden Kapke proved to be a force to be reckoned with, as he stole the lead with a post fade to put BC up 44–43 with 13:25 to go. The Butler transfer finished with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Toews and Steger pulled the Eagles out of the clutches of FDU as they each hit two threes in the final eight minutes. A layup from Payne with 4:56 to play gave BC a 62–58 lead and kicked off a 9–0 run that cemented the Eagles’ win.
The Knights ended the game on a 1-of-11 shooting stretch from the field, while the Eagles extended their lead to 11 to come away with a 72–61 victory.