Tre Jones scored 18 points, and Vernon Carey Jr. posted 17 points despite foul trouble as No. 7 Duke overcame Boston College for a 63-55 victory Tuesday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Joey Baker provided all eight of his points in the second half as Duke (19-3, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its fourth game in a row going into a Saturday night game at rival North Carolina.
Boston College (11-12, 5-7) led 47-43 with less than eight minutes remaining.
Duke used a 10-0 run to go up 56-49, aided by turnovers on three consecutive Boston College possessions.
Derryck Thornton scored 21 points for the Eagles. Thornton, a senior guard, played his freshman season for Duke before transferring to Southern California and then returning to an ACC school. Jay Heath added 12 points for Boston College.
Carey, who finished with 10 rebounds, picked up his fourth foul with 14:44 remaining and Boston College leading 33-29.
Baker's 3-pointer at the 7:33 mark ended the Blue Devils' 0-for-14 shooting from long range, extending the nation's second-longest 3-point streak to 1,081 games.
Neither team made a 3-point basket as the players were a combined 0-for-27 until Nik Popovic's 3-pointer for Boston College with about 11 minutes to play.
Boston College led 24-19 before Duke posted the final basket of the first half.
The teams were a combined 0-for-21 on 3-point shots in the first half, with Duke responsible for 12 of those misses.
Duke shot just 8-for-30 from the field in the first half just three nights after a 97-88 victory at Syracuse reflected the Blue Devils' most points in an ACC road game in 18 years.
Boston College's 10 first-half turnovers helped Duke stay close.
Duke won 88-49 against Boston College in a New Year's Eve meeting in Durham, N.C. Blue Devils freshman Matthew Hurt scored a season-high 25 points in that game, but he managed just two points in the rematch and didn't play in the second half.
Boston College's Steffon Mitchell had nine of his 12 rebounds in the first half Tuesday.
The Eagles were trying to knock off traditional powers North Carolina and Duke in consecutive games.
--Field Level Media
Duke | Boston College | |
Tre Jones 18 | Scoring | Derryck Thornton 21 |
Tre Jones 4 | Assists | Steffon Mitchell 3 |
Vernon Carey Jr. 10 | Rebounds | Steffon Mitchell 12 |
Vernon Carey Jr. 7 | Free Throws Made | Derryck Thornton 7 |
Javin DeLaurier 2 | Steals | Steffon Mitchell 3 |
Vernon Carey Jr. 1 | Blocks | Jared Hamilton 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Duke | 63 | 37.7 | 1-15 | 16-20 | 10 | 38 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
Boston College | 55 | 37.3 | 2-18 | 9-12 | 7 | 40 | 3 | 5 | 17 |