Eagles Playing Stellar Defense and Lead Duke 24-21 at Halftime

Can BC hold the lead in the second half?

No one give Boston College a shot going into this game, but don't tell them that. The Eagles came out with guns blazing and have taken it to Duke leading 24-21 at the half. 

The game started with some highlight reel plays including a monster dunk by CJ Felder and an unbelievable alley oop from Derryck Thornton to Jared Hamilton. The Eagles combined that with some great defense that limited Duke, and BC jumped up to a 14-4 lead. 

14:13 left in 1H: BC 12 No. 7 Duke 2.

After knocking down a jumper over Alex O'Connell, Derryck Thornton floats a pass for a two-handed Jared Hamilton alley-oop.

The Eagles have all the momentum, and Duke can't seem to buy a basket. pic.twitter.com/WC35zQX5aZ

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) February 5, 2020

Duke inevitably started to mount their comeback with a 9-4 run of their own, with Cassius Stanley and Vernon Carey leading the way. BC got particularly sloppy with the ball, turning it over ten times in the half. However BC gritted their way through the run and messy play, and only allowed Duke to build a one point lead. 

The Eagles continued to lock down on defense, holding Duke to 26.7% from the floor and finished the half on an 8-4 run. BC was led by former Duke transfer Derryck Thornton with ten points, and Steffon Mitchell with nine rebounds. Duke was lead by center Vernon Carey who had nine points in the half.

The statistic that stood out in the first half was the atrocious three point shooting by both teams. They combined to shoot 0-21 from beyond the arc. Seeing BC struggle from three isn't new, but Duke usually is consistent shooting 36% on the season. 

The second half is about to start, let's see if the Eagles can hold on to this lead.