Claudell Harris Jr. scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half as Boston College erased a 10-point deficit and dominated the final minutes of an 86-80 win over St. John’s on Sunday at the NABC Brooklyn Showcase in New York.
Quinten Post nearly finished with a triple-double by totaling 14 points, 11 rebounds and career-high nine assists. Post scored just one point after halftime and did not attempt a shot in the final 15-plus minutes.
Jaeden Zackery added 14 and Chas Kelley III contributed 13 for the Eagles (8-3), who outscored St. John’s 44-28 over the final 14:55 remaining and shot 56.4 percent by making 21 layups and dunks.
Joel Soriano collected 21 and 11 rebounds, but the Red Storm (6-3) saw a four-game winning streak stopped and were 3-of-14 from the floor in the final eight-plus minutes.
Chris Ledlum added 16 points and 11 boards while Jordan Dingle, Daniss Jenkins and Glenn Taylor Jr. finished with 10 apiece as St. John’s shot 40.3 percent and was unable to win despite getting 20 offensive rebounds.
In the first half, the teams combined for 50 points in the paint and the Eagles took a six-point lead on a basket by Kelley with 3:03 remaining before settling for a 38-36 lead after Taylor hit a layup with 44 seconds left.
Soriano’s layup, dunk and hook shot in a span of 71 seconds gave the Red Storm a 44-42 lead early in the second. The run extended to 12-0 when Dingle stole an inbounds pass and converted a three-point play.
Soriano got his second dunk of the half with 14:55 remaining for a 52-42 lead to cap a 14-0 run.
Boston College countered with eight straight points and a 13-2 run to take a 55-54 lead on Mason Madsen’s 3 with 11:48 remaining. The Eagles opened a 61-56 lead on Prince Aligbe’s dunk with 10:22 remaining.
After St. John’s took a 66-61 lead on two Soriano free throws with 7:56 left, the Eagles scored eight straight and never trailed again after Kelley’s layup made it 68-66 with 6:20 remaining.
The Eagles clung to a one-point lead following Soriano’s layup with 4:25 remaining but gradually finished it off.
–Field Level Media
