Chris Bell scored 20 points and Maliq Brown chipped in 19 as Syracuse defeated visiting Boston College 69-59 on Wednesday evening.
The Orange (11-4, 2-2 ACC) topped the Eagles (10-5, 1-3) for the 11th straight time despite squandering a 19-point first-half lead. Judah Mintz had 10 points on 1-of-7 shooting as Syracuse won despite shooting 37.7 percent from the floor, including 6-of-21 from 3-point range.
Claudell Harris Jr. led BC with 16 points, while Devin McGlockton registered 15 points and 14 rebounds. Quinten Post went scoreless and committed seven of the team’s 22 turnovers.
After trailing by 10 points at halftime and by 15 early in the second half, the Eagles clawed within 43-35 on Harris’ 3-pointer with a little less than 14 minutes left. He made another a little more than a minute later and then Mason Madsen knocked down one to get the visitors within 47-41 with 11:29 to go.
The Eagles took the lead, 50-49, on Prince Aligbe’s layup with 7:27 left. However, Bell responded with a 3-pointer to put the hosts back in front. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes before Syracuse went on a 14-4 run to close the game.
Brown threw down two dunks early in that surge and then added two free throws to make it 63-59. Mintz followed with two foul shots, and then Bell’s jumper essentially sealed the win.
The Orange led 8-0 after less than two minutes into the game, thanks to early 3-pointers from Bell and Justin Taylor. They took their first double-digit lead at 17-7 with 8:18 remaining in the first half, and an 11-0 run shortly thereafter pushed the advantage to 28-9.
Harris knocked down two triples and a layup to get the Eagles back within 32-17. Madsen then scored five points in the final 1:10 of the half to close the margin to 32-22 at the break.
–Field Level Media