After picking up its 20th loss—the second 20-loss season since head coach Earl Grant arrived at the Heights in 2021—Boston College men’s basketball came into its game on Saturday needing a win—badly.
The Eagles got just that, giving themselves a chance at making the ACC Tournament by beating Notre Dame 77–69 in their season finale. BC didn’t know it at the time, but the win was ultimately worthless, at least in terms of its postseason hopes.
Pittsburgh spoiled BC’s path later on Saturday evening, beating Syracuse as the Panthers secured the final spot in the conference tournament ahead of the Eagles (11–20, 4–14 Atlantic Coast).
BC has gone a combined 8–30 in conference play in the past two seasons. The Eagles missed the ACC Tournament both years, and reports regarding Grant’s job security are more prevalent than ever.
“Nobody loves adversity, and trials and tribulations, but that’s really the only way you can grow,” Grant said. “I think I’m a better coach now than I was a few years ago.”
Grant said that questions about his future at BC are not what he is thinking about, though.
“Really not on my mind at all,” Grant said. “I don’t control that. Like I told you, God got a plan.”
In a fitting end to his breakout season, Fred Payne was the Eagles’ leading scorer with 24 points. He wasn’t efficient—shooting just 7 of 20 from the floor, while BC was just 6 of 28 from three as a team—but it was enough to get the job done.
In a fashion that became typical over the course of the season, the Eagles managed to beat Notre Dame (13–18, 4–14) on the defensive end, as the Fighting Irish shot 22 of 62 (35.5 percent) from the floor.
BC also shot nearly twice as many free throws as the Fighting Irish. Although the Eagles missed 10 free throws, going 31–41 on foul shots, Notre Dame sank only 14 of its 21 attempts. That advantage was crucial for the Eagles, especially down the stretch.
BC went into halftime trailing 33–30 after shooting 8 of 29 from the field and 2 of 16 from three in the opening 20 minutes. The second half was a different story for BC, though, as the Eagles put up 46-percent shooting from the floor and made 19 free throws.
Jayden Hastings, normally a streaky free-throw shooter, was a key contributor from the charity stripe, going 8 of 9 from the line.
Notre Dame stretched its lead to nine after three minutes of second-half play, and it seemed as though the Fighting Irish were about to pull away. But then Payne hit a three, Luka Toews pulled up for a jumper, and Payne scored two more on a dunk to cut the lead to two.
On the very next play, Payne stole the ball and drove into the paint again. He was fouled and made both his free throws, tying the game at 41.
Paint points and free throws made up most of BC’s points from then on, and a hook shot from Hastings with 3:51 to play put BC up 63–56 as Notre Dame struggled to score.
The Fighting Irish cut the lead to four with 1:16 to play, but BC held on, thanks almost entirely to free throws, and came away with a 77–69 win. Unfortunately for Grant and his staff, even a home win over the rival Fighting Irish was not enough for the Eagles to prolong their season.
