Fred Payne's 14 Points Lead Boston College Men's Basketball to Win Over Hampton

The Eagles move above .500 for the first time this season after their win over the Pirates.

Boston College Men's Basketball (BCMBB) via X

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The Boston College Eagles (3-2) men’s basketball team earned its third win of the season with a 63-52 victory over the Hampton Pirates (2-4) in Conte Forum on Tuesday night. 

Coming out of the gate, Boston College earned an early 9-6 advantage over Hampton in a little over four minutes of play. Eagles guard Fred Payne led the stretch with seven points and one steal which included a three-pointer to break the tie. 

After the first timeout of the contest, the Eagles’ strong start continued and they extended their lead 18-9 with 12:20 to play in the opening half with a 9-3 run. 

Boston College’s pace of play slowed a bit down the stretch, but the team went into halftime with a double digit lead 37-26 thanks to a three-pointer by Eagles forward Jason Asemota as time expired. 

In total, Boston College went 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the floor and 4-of-16 (25%) from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of action as well as knocked down five free throws. 

Hampton, on the other hand, had similar numbers as the team went 11-of-23 (47.8%) from the floor and 2-of-7 (28.6%) from three-point range, but only knocked down a pair of their five attempts from the charity stripe. 

The Eagles opened the second half on a 10-3 run which was led by Payne’s four points during the stretch to extend their lead to 17 points 47-30. The redshirt sophomore led all scorers with 14 points. 

Like the first half, Boston College’s pace of play slowed after the first few minutes, however the team was able to keep its lead for the entirety of the contest.

Between the first and second media timeouts, the two teams combined for seven total points, however BC had the advantage with five to give itself a 48-32 lead. 

Down the stretch, Hampton outshot Boston College 20-14, but the Eagles did enough overall to earn the win.

In the second half, BC shot 29.6% (8-of-27) from the floor and 9.1% (1-of-11) from three-point range compared to Hampton’s 27% (10-of-37) from the floor and 12.5% (2-of-16) from three-point range. 

“We won,” said Boston College head coach Earl Grant. “Winning is fun. Not easy to do. Certain things we wish we could’ve done better, but that’s why it’s a season. Keep working at it. We’ll take the win, watch the film tomorrow, learn from it, get ready for the road trip.”

With the win, Boston College moves to above .500 for the first time this season while the Pirates fall to .333. 

Next up, Boston College travels to Charleston, S.C., to participate in the Charleston Classic. The Eagles’ first game will be against Davidson on Friday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.