Fresh off epic rally, BC bids to build momentum vs. Ga. Tech

Field Level Media|published: Fri 3rd January, 12:42 2025

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Second Round-Boston College vs Clemson

Mar 13, 2024; Washington, D.C., USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Earl Grant looks on from the bench against the Clemson Tigers in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Boston College and Georgia Tech will try to build on the momentum of winning their respective first Atlantic Coast Conference games of the season when they meet on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.

The Eagles (9-5, 1-2 ACC) overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Miami 78-68 on Wednesday in the largest home comeback in program history. Georgia Tech (7-7, 1-2) led Notre Dame by as many as 19 and beat the Fighting Irish 86-75 on Tuesday.

Georgia Tech leads the series 19-13. Boston College won the only meeting last season to break a five-game Tech winning streak. That victory marked the last time the Eagles had overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half.

The Eagles are led by Donald Hand (14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds), Chad Venning (11.9 points) and Elijah Strong (10.4 points, 4.9 rebounds). Venning, a graduate transfer from St. Bonaventure, has the best shooting percentage on the team (55.5 percent) and scored 17 points against Miami.

"He's a savvy veteran," Boston College coach Earl Grant said of Venning. "He's well-traveled and he's old and he's experienced. He's been through a lot of different kinds of battles. He's really hard to guard. We try to get him the ball early and he stabilizes our offense and he stabilizes our defense."

Georgia Tech is coming of its best all-around game of the season. The Yellow Jackets finally are getting all their pieces back from a variety of injuries.

"There's been an injury here, an injury there, a whole bunch of things you can say, but I'm not into that," Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said. "I'm from the old school. You've got what you've got, so figure it out. Now guys have gotten back to getting their individual work and we've really poured into our guys, and we've been able to get some payback on it."

Georgia Tech is led by Lance Terry (15.3 points), Baye Ndongo (12.6 points, 7.0 rebounds), Javian McCollum (11.7 points) and Naithan George (10.0 points, 6.1 assists).

This is the final contest of a five-game homestand for the Yellow Jackets, who play at Syracuse on Tuesday.

Boston College is off until Jan. 11 when it hosts the Orange.

--Field Level Media