Notre Dame Edges Boston College, 84-76
Notre Dame overcame a double-digit first-half deficit and escaped with a 84-76 win over last-place Boston College on Tuesday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The 25th-ranked Irish improved to 20-7 and 9-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame is now 11-3 in games decided by eight points or less. It’s the 13th 20-win season for head coach Mike Brey at Notre Dame.
Brey’s team trailed by as many as 13 points against the Eagles (9-18, 2-12). Notre Dame, playing its fourth game in 10 days, entered halftime losing by 10 after Boston College shot 58.6 percent in the first half.
"They were fabulous offensively in the first half. We could not guard them," Brey told ESPN after the game. "Our backs were against the wall. We had no answer for them for 20 minutes."
Notre Dame found its groove in the second half, going on a 15-1 run after trailing by 10 early in the period. The spurt included six straight defensive stops by the Irish and back-to-back 3-pointers by junior guard Matt Farrell to tie the game.
The Irish took their first lead of the game at 61-59 shortly thereafter on a tip-slam by junior forward Bonzie Colson with 12:42 remaining. Notre Dame would not relinquish the lead, though the Eagles pulled within two points with under a minute to play.
Leading 78-76 with 28 seconds to go, senior wing V.J. Beachem pulled in an offensive rebound on a miss by senior guard Steve Vasturia. Beachem made both free throws to put Boston College away.
Colson, a New Bedford, Mass., native, playing in front of friends and family, scored a team-high 20 points and had six rebounds for the Irish.
Farrell, a one-time Boston College verbal commitment before flipping to Notre Dame, had 19 points.
Vasturia added 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Beachem had 16 points — including four 3-pointers — and eight rebounds.
Boston College, which cooled-off and shot 33.5 percent in the second half, was led by freshman guard Ky Bowman's 29 points.
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