Boston College head basketball coach Steve Donahue’s job security has been in serious doubt for some time now. Donahue and the Eagles have been stuck in the basement of the ACC for several years and the former Cornell coach lacked that true “signature win” at The Heights.
Wednesday night in upstate New York, Donahue got that signature win in the form of the biggest regular season upset in college basketball this season. BC absolutely stunned No. 1 ranked Syracuse at the Carrier Dome Wednesday night with a 62-59 overtime victory. It was the Orange’s first loss of the season after going 25-0 entering Wednesday’s game against the thought-to-be down-and-out Eagles. Boston College entered the game with a 6-19 overall record.
Boston College trailed at the half, 25-17, but scored 33 points in the second half to force overtime. In the extra session, Olivier Hanlan and Patrick Heckmann drained shots from 3-point range and Lonnie Jackson was perfect from the foul line to give BC the monumental win. Hanlan scored a team-high 20 points in the Eagles victory.
BC players and coaches credited the win to longtime sports information director Dick Kelley, who passed away last week after a battle with ALS. The Eagles wore a “DK” patch on their uniforms in honor of Kelley.
Follow Metro Boston sports editor Matt Burke on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS
