Boston College Men’s Basketball Can’t Stop No. 3 Duke’s Explosive Second Half

Originally posted on Boston College Eagles on SI
By Kim Rankin | Last updated Jan 18, 2025 10:16 PM ET

The Boston College Eagles (9-9, 1-6 ACC) men’s basketball team suffered its fourth consecutive loss on Saturday night to the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils (16-2, 8-0 ACC) 88-63 at Conte Forum.

Boston College came out hot as it made five of its first eight shots and got off to a quick 11-7 lead. Eagles center Chad Venning led the early run, going 3-of-4 from the floor and scoring the team’s first six points.

The Eagles biggest lead of the night was seven points and it came with 11:36 remaining in the first half 18-11. The Blue Devils settled into the contest and battled back from behind to take a 22-20 lead with 8:37 remaining in the half.

After Boston College knotted the game at 22 with a layup by Venning, Duke went on an 18-12 run to end the first 20 minutes and went into halftime with a 40-34 advantage.

Coming out of the break, the Blue Devils went on a 6-2 run which included four from star forward Cooper Flagg to take a double-digit lead 46-36.

The Eagles struggled in the second 20 minutes of play. They tallied 29 points and went 32-percent from the floor as well as 3-of-11 from behind the arc.

In total, Venning led Boston College with 19 points. Flagg led Duke with 28.

The Blue Devils scored a combined 48 points in the second half.

Up next, Boston College travels to Charlottesville, Va., to take on the Virginia Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ACC Network.