Jaeden Zackery scored a game-high 21 points as Boston College escaped with a 75-71 win at The Citadel in Friday night’s nonconference clash at Charleston, S.C.
Zackery was 8-of-12 from the field and added four assists and four steals.
Donald Hand Jr. added 14 points, Devin McGlockton and Claudell Harris Jr. 12 apiece for the Eagles (2-0), who shot 53.3 percent from the field.
Quinten Post battled through foul trouble for BC, scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes.
Elijah Morgan (17 points) and Kenyan Davis (12 points) each canned four 3-pointers to pace the Bulldogs (0-2). AJ Smith had 14 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Neither team led by more than six points all game.
Hand’s tough layup through traffic extended the BC lead to six with 5:36 to go, but a 7-2 run capped by Madison Durr’s layup brought The Citadel back within one.
In the final 1:19, Zackery and McGlockton’s back-to-back layups helped BC widen its lead to 73-68 before Morgan hit a deep three to keep the Bulldogs alive. Zackery iced the game at the foul line.
The Eagles jumped out 7-2 — thanks to Zackery scoring five of his 11 first-half points — before Post was called for two fouls in less than four minutes.
BC weathered the storm until Davis’ trey capped the hosts’ 10-4 run and knotted the score at 17.
Post returned shortly thereafter, helping BC on a 9-4 run to take a 26-21 lead. Prince Aligbe hit bookending baskets during that stretch.
The Bulldogs hit four 3-pointers over the final six minutes of the first, turning their five-point deficit into a 38-35 lead by halftime.
Davis hit two go-ahead treys in the late span and finished the half with four.
Smith’s 3-point play with 1:13 left made it 38-33 before Post’s layup in the late seconds.
–Field Level Media