Fred Payne came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points to help Boston College avoid an upset with a 67-63 win over New Haven on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Boston College (5-5), which trailed by 10 at halftime, received 13 points from Donald Hand Jr., and 12 from Luka Toews.
Jabri Fitzpatrick scored a team-high 16 points for New Haven, which is playing its first season as a Division I program.
The Chargers (5-5) entered Saturday’s game on a three-game winning streak, but all three wins came against Division II opponents.
New Haven trailed 65-63 after a Fitzpatrick layup with 10 seconds to play, but Hand made two free throws on the ensuing possession to finalize the scoring. Hand was held scoreless in the first half.
The Chargers received 14 points from Najimi George and 13 from Andre Pasha. Stefano Faloppa added 10 points and nine rebounds.
New Haven never trailed in the first half and had its first double-digit lead after Pasha connected on a 3-pointer to boost the advantage to 17-7 just over 8 1/2 minutes into the game.
Boston College scored nine straight points to pull within one point, 19-18, but New Haven regained the momentum and had its largest lead following a George layup that made it 33-20 with 57 seconds remaining in the first half. It was 33-23 at halftime.
Boston College shot 7 of 25 from the floor in the first half (28%). The Eagles also committed 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles scored the first nine points in the second half, and tied the game, 37-37, on a Payne 3-pointer with 15:08 to play.
Boston College had its first lead when Hand made his first field goal, a 3-pointer that gave the Eagles a 48-46 advantage with 8:34 left. Another Hand 3-pointer pushed Boston College’s advantage to 57-51 lead with 5:59 to play.
