Claudell Harris Jr. scored 18 of his 29 points and canned four of his seven 3-pointers in the first half to lead Boston College to an 85-69 win over visiting Lehigh in its nonconference finale Thursday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Eagles (9-3) trailed 2-0 in the opening minute but never looked back after Harris Jr. scored four consecutive 3-pointers and scored 14 points during a 15-0 team run.
Harris also reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career on his seventh 3-point make, highlighting a late 12-2 Eagle run to lead 77-54 with 4:45 left in regulation.
Jaeden Zackery and Quinten Post each added 13 points, and Devin McGlockton pulled down 10 rebounds.
Keith Higgins Jr. led Lehigh (2-8) with 14 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
While shooting 40.7 percent from the field, the Mountain Hawks were just 20.8 (5 of 24) from long range.
Following Higgins Jr.’s first-minute jumper, the host Eagles immediately took full control with their dominant run over a span of nearly five minutes.
Harris Jr. capped his near-solo run with four straight treys, two of which spurred from Post blocks at the opposite end. The Charleston Southern transfer hit from the top of the key to punctuate the stretch at the 14:27 mark.
The Mountain Hawks hung tough thereafter, trading baskets until a Joshua Ingram 3-point play with 9:47 left before halftime.
A Donald Hand Jr. layup bumped the BC lead back to 11 before Dominic Parolin’s alley-oop dunk concluded a 6-1 run that cut Lehigh’s deficit to six. A Jalin Sinclair 3-pointer with 4:59 left made it a five-point game.
After alternating runs, BC finished the period on a 9-2 run that Zackery began with a 3-pointer and layup and ended with a jump shot.
Lehigh went on a 7-0 run in the second half to respond to McGlockton’s early trey and got back within 11 on Tyler Whitney-Sidney’s fast-break layup at 18:01. The Mountain Hawks weren’t that close again until a Cam Gillus 3-pointer with 13:20 left.
The Eagles immediately responded with a 6-0 burst, including a Post finish at the rim and two Chas Kelley III free throws to bring the lead to 17.
BC’s lead climbed above 20 for the first time when Zackery downed his second straight layup with 5:55 left.
Ingram’s corner three helped a 10-0 Lehigh run, but the hosts responded by hitting their final three field goals.
–Field Level Media