Saturday, February 8
Syracuse, NY
3:15 p.m.
Boston College
10-13,2-10ACC
86
at
95
Syracuse
11-13,5-8ACC
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2
OT 1
OT 2
OT 3
F
Boston College
27
40
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Syracuse
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Photo by: Eddie Shabomardenly
Triple Overtime Thriller Falls Short at Syracuse
February 08, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Fred Payne's 3-pointer at the end of regulation forced the first of three extra frames
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Donald Hand Jr. poured in a game-high 28 points as Boston College played its first triple overtime game in nearly 60 years - a 95-86 loss at Syracuse on Sunday.
Hand made 10-of-23 shots from the floor - including five 3-pointers - to go along with seven rebounds in 51 minutes of play. Â He was one of four BC players in double figures on the day. Â Joshua Beadle added 16 points, while Chad Venning had 11 and Fred Payne 10.
Payne forced extra time, connecting on a 3-pointer with less than two seconds left in the second half, capping a 7-0 Eagles' run over the final 2:18 of regulation.
For the game, BC connected on 42.9% (33-77) from the floor, including 11-of-32 from the 3-point line.  The Eagles uncharacteristically struggled from the free throw line, making 9-of-18 on the day.
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FIRST HALF
Hand made 10-of-23 shots from the floor - including five 3-pointers - to go along with seven rebounds in 51 minutes of play. Â He was one of four BC players in double figures on the day. Â Joshua Beadle added 16 points, while Chad Venning had 11 and Fred Payne 10.
Payne forced extra time, connecting on a 3-pointer with less than two seconds left in the second half, capping a 7-0 Eagles' run over the final 2:18 of regulation.
For the game, BC connected on 42.9% (33-77) from the floor, including 11-of-32 from the 3-point line.  The Eagles uncharacteristically struggled from the free throw line, making 9-of-18 on the day.
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FIRST HALF
- Syracuse led for the first five minutes of play, connecting on 4-of-5 to start
- Donald Hand Jr. had six of BC's first eight points
- The Eagles tallied eight unanswered points, taking a 16-12 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Elijah Strong and Fred Payne and a turnaround fadeaway jumper from Chad Venning
- Syracuse was 1-for-14 from the floor during an over five-minute scoreless stretch, but responded with a 7-2 push to retake the lead - 19-18 - with less than eight minutes to play in the period
- A Hand 3-pointer with 3:45 left in the half gave BC a 27-25 lead
- From there, Syracuse used a 9-0 run to close the half, as BC trailed 34-27 at the breakÂ
- Both teams began the second half hot, as BC made its first five attempts from the floor, while Syracuse connected on 4-of-5
- BC trailed 45-41 at the first media timeout (15:26), led by Dion Brown (5) and Joshua Beadle (4) early on
- The Orange extended the lead to as many as 10 - 55-45 - with 12:12 to play
- A BC 10-4 push - paced by a 3-ball from Hand and a floater in the lane from Payne - cut it to 59-55 with 7:02 left
- The Eagles got within one - 59-58 - on Hand's fourth triple of the game, with 4:52 left
- But 'Cuse's 8-2 push put the lead back to three possessions - 67-60 - with 2:18 to play
- BC closed regulation on a 7-0 run over the final 2:18, beginning with a layup from Venning and a jumper from Hand with 12 ticks to play, making it 67-64.
- After Syracuse missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, BC got it across the time line and called timeout.
- On the ensuing play, Payne drilled a 3-pointer with less than two seconds, forcing overtime
- The first overtime period saw four lead changes and five ties, with neither team leading by more than two.
- BC led by one - 76-75 - with under a minute remaining after Venning converted a three-point play
- But the Orange went to the line with 30 seconds left, making one of two foul shots, and the game would go into a second overtime.
- In double OT, BC would score the first seven points, thanks to a trifecta from Beadle and layups from Hand and Venning.
- Syracuse scored the next six, cutting it to 83-82 with 1:04 left in the second extra frame.
- Payne's two free throws with 38 seconds to go put BC back up 85-82, but a quick layup by Syracuse and a missed front-end by Hand gave the Orange the ball with 24 seconds left.
- The Orange connected on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, tying it at 85-85 and the game entered its third overtime
- In the final five minute period, the Orange outscored BC 10-1 and held on for the victory.Â
- The three overtime game at Syracuse tied for the longest game in program history.
- On March 13, 1966, BC downed Louisville, 96-90, in triple OT in the opening round of the NIT at Madison Square Garden in New York City
- Over his last four games, Donald Hand Jr. has scored 104 points - an average of 26.0 points per game over the stretch
- Hand's 51 minutes played ties his for the ninth-most minutes played in a single-game this season; it is the fifth-most in the ACC
- Joshua Beadle connected on 7-of-8 shots from the floor, including both of his 3-point attempts, to go along with six assists
- It marked the fifth road game in ACC play this season that BC's opponent held a double-digit advantage in free throws attemptedÂ
- Boston College closes out its regular season series with Notre Dame at home on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
- Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. and the game will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPNU, with Jon Meterparel and Randolph Childress.
- Fans can also tune into the game live on WEEI 850 AM, with Josh Maurer and Kevin Collins.
Team Stats
BC
SU
FG%
.429
.473
3FG%
.344
.368
FT%
.500
.563
RB
45
50
TO
16
13
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF/C
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