Chad Venning scored a team-high 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting as Boston College held off visiting Stonehill for a 73-69 win Sunday afternoon in nonconference action in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Venning contributed eight second-half points to help the Eagles (7-4) hold off a late rally that saw a 13-point lead with 9:25 left cut to just two in the final minute.
Chas Kelley III and Donald Hand Jr. each added 12 for Boston College, which had been on a three-game skid. Hand hit the first pair of free throws that iced the game after a 5-0 run from Stonehill (6-6) made it a two-point game with 21 seconds left.
Todd Brogna shot 10-of-16 to score a career-high 25 points with four assists for the Skyhawks, who played without leading scorer Josh Morgan (ankle). Ethan Meuser (11) and Amir Nesbitt (10) were also double-digit scorers for Stonehill.
After going 4-of-7 from 3-point range to finish the first half, Boston College upped its lead to 41-30 with a 6-0 run out of the break, as Hand and Venning finished at the rim and Elijah Strong scored a transition layup in a span of just 1:32.
Stonehill never went away throughout the second half, and Meuser — playing with four fouls — canned back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 7-0 run with 3:46 left.
Strong forced his way to the rim to start a 4-0 Eagle response, but Brogna and Hermann Koffi triples — with a Venning putback in between — made up a 6-2 run that kept the Skyhawks within 69-65 with 1:38 left.
After a steal by Chas Stinson (eight points, seven rebounds), Brogna and Nesbitt laid in Stonehill’s final baskets in between Boston College’s clinching foul shots.
Nesbitt’s left-side 3-pointer had brought the Skyhawks within 49-42 with 12:45 left, but Hand and Kelley responded and Brown finished a pair of mid-range jumpers to up the Eagle lead to 13 halfway through the period.
Opening threes by Meuser and Brogna helped Stonehill take a 6-0 lead before Hand’s jumper marked the first Boston College points. A Kelley trey capped a 7-0 run that gave the hosts their first lead at the 12:36 mark.
Brogna hit three straight Stonehill field goals and set up Louie Semona’s left-corner three for a 22-19 edge with 8:00 to go. The teams traded baskets until Kelley’s jumper and a Payne transition layup equaled a quick 4-0 run for the Eagles and a 30-26 lead.
The Eagles led 35-30 after Payne hit from the right side with 30 seconds left before halftime.
–Field Level Media
