Chad Venning scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead a collective effort, which helped host Boston College to a 78-68 comeback victory over Miami on Wednesday afternoon at Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Eagles (9-5, 1-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference) won for the third time in their past four games and put together an impressive comeback win after trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half.
The Hurricanes (4-9, 0-2 in ACC) dropped their ninth game in their past 10 and played their first game since longtime coach Jim Larranaga announced his retirement after 14 seasons on Dec. 26.
Miami stormed out to a 25-7 lead with 12:31 left in the first half with hot shooting from the floor and the kind of active defense it had been missing so far this season.
But those factors began to reverse late in the first half as Boston College trimmed the deficit to 12 by halftime and outscored Miami 49-27 over the final 20 minutes.
Boston College tied the game at 53 with 9:43 left in the second half on a free throw by Elijah Strong and, after a layup by Miami’s Austin Swartz, took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Roger McFarlane with 8:52 to go.
After the Hurricanes tied it up on a Lynn Kidd free throw, the Eagles went on a 9-0 run, taking advantage of a 1-for-14 shooting stretch by Miami.
A Swartz triple with 3:48 to go pulled the Hurricanes within four points, but the Eagles answered quickly when Joshua Beadle hit a 3-pointer of his own. Beadle, who finished with 13 points, was one of five Boston College players who scored in double figures.
Fred Payne totaled 15 points and six rebounds while Strong had 11 points and Donald Hand Jr. had 10 points and five rebounds.
Matthew Cleveland led the Hurricanes with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, and Kidd had 14 points and eight rebounds. Paul Djobet had 10 points.
–Field Level Media
