Tuesday, February 4
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
7 p.m.
Boston College
11-12,5-7ACC
55
vs
63
Duke
19-3,9-2ACC
1
2
F
Duke
21
42
63
Boston College
24
31
55
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Eagles Fall Short in Battle With #7/7 Duke
February 04, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Derryck Thornton led BC with 21 while Jay Heath added 12
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Duke outscored Boston College 15-6 over the final 6:12 of the game, as the Eagles fell, 63-55, to the seventh-ranked Blue Devils at home on Tuesday night.
Derryck Thornton poured in a game-high 21 points to go along with two rebounds and three assists.
The Eagles jumped out to a 12-2 lead through the first eight minutes of play, as BC connected on 6-of-9 from the floor to start the game. Duke was cold out of the gates, making 1-of-11 field goal attempts.
Duke scored seven unanswered as BC committed four turnovers over the next five minutes, but the Eagles held onto a 16-13 lead with 7:48 left in the half. The Blue Devils' run extended to 13-2, as they took their first lead of the night at 17-16. Both teams traded buckets the remainder of the period and the Eagles led, 24-21 at the break.
In the second half, BC opened up a four-point lead - 29-25 - after Jay Heath converted a traditional 3-point play with 17:48 to go in regulation. There were seven lead changes and six ties down the stretch. Jairus Hamilton's jumper with 7:08 remaining put BC ahead 49-46 before Duke pulled away for good.
A 10-1 run over the next 4:24 gave the Blue Devils a 58-50 lead with 1:48 to go. The Eagles would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
Derryck Thornton poured in a game-high 21 points to go along with two rebounds and three assists.
The Eagles jumped out to a 12-2 lead through the first eight minutes of play, as BC connected on 6-of-9 from the floor to start the game. Duke was cold out of the gates, making 1-of-11 field goal attempts.
Duke scored seven unanswered as BC committed four turnovers over the next five minutes, but the Eagles held onto a 16-13 lead with 7:48 left in the half. The Blue Devils' run extended to 13-2, as they took their first lead of the night at 17-16. Both teams traded buckets the remainder of the period and the Eagles led, 24-21 at the break.
In the second half, BC opened up a four-point lead - 29-25 - after Jay Heath converted a traditional 3-point play with 17:48 to go in regulation. There were seven lead changes and six ties down the stretch. Jairus Hamilton's jumper with 7:08 remaining put BC ahead 49-46 before Duke pulled away for good.
A 10-1 run over the next 4:24 gave the Blue Devils a 58-50 lead with 1:48 to go. The Eagles would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Thornton put forth his third 20+ point effort of the season. He connected on 7-of-13 shots from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
- Jay Heath added 12 points (5-10) to go with a season-best nine rebounds. He also tallied an assist, a steal, and a blocked shot.
- Steffon Mitchell grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with three assists, three steals, and a blocked shot.
- Nik Popovic had nine points and four boards off the bench for BC.
- Popovic ended a combined 0-for-26 drought from the perimeter with his 3-pointer with 11:18 to go.
- Duke (1-15) and BC (2-18) finished a combined 3-33 for the game - 9.0%. It is the fourth-lowest 3-point percentage in a game this season.
- The Eagles were 22-of-59 overall on the night (37.3%) and 9-of-12 from the foul line.
- Duke was 23-of-61 and 16-of-20 from the charity stripe.
- +1 - BC out rebounded Duke, 40-39. It marked the second time in ACC play that the Eagles won the battle of the glass. BC held a +2 edge on the glass versus Virginia Tech on Jan. 25
- Steffon Mitchell led BC with a 16 efficiency rating.
- Jay Heath registered a 14 while Derryck Thornton had a 13 as the only three Eagles in double-digits for EFF.
- Efficiency rating is calculated using the following formula: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK - Missed Shots - TO)
- Boston College plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 8 in the second of two regular season meetings with the Hokies.
- The Eagles earned a 61-56 win over the Hokies in Chestnut Hill on Jan. 25, 2020.
- Tipoff is set for noon and the game will air live on regional sports networks around the country. NESN+ has it locally.
- Tom Weme and Mike Gminski have the broadcast call.
- The game can also be heard live on the Boston College Learfield IMG College Sports Network with Josh Maurer and Danya Abrams on WEEI 850 AM.
Team Stats
DUKE
BC
FG%
.377
.373
3FG%
.067
.111
FT%
.800
.750
RB
39
40
TO
11
17
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballFootball: Dylan Lonergan Postgame News Conference (Sept. 7, 2025)
Sunday, September 07
Football: KP Price Postgame News Conference (Sept. 7, 2025)
Sunday, September 07
Football: Bill O'Brien Postgame News Conference (Sept. 7, 2025)
Sunday, September 07
Football: Head Coach Bill O'Brien Media Availability (September 4, 2025)
Thursday, September 04
