Boston College rallies to beat Miami in the Hurricanes’ first game since Jim Larrañaga stepped down

BOSTON (AP) — Chad Venning scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half, Fred Payne finished with 15 and Boston College rallied to beat Miami 78-68 on Wednesday in the Hurricanes’ first game since Jim Larrañaga stepped down as the men’s basketball coach.

The 75-year-old Larrañaga was replaced for the remainder of the season by associate head coach Bill Courtney — one of Larrañaga’s best friends for the past three decades or so.

Boston College trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half. Miami scored the opening eight points of the game and extended its lead to 20-6 behind eight points from Paul Djobet.

Miami’s lead was 41-29 at the break before Boston College started the second half on a 10-2 run to get within four points. The Eagles’ first lead came with 8:52 remaining when Roger McFarlane made a 3-pointer.

Payne’s 3-pointer with 8:15 remaining sparked a 9-0 run to give Boston College the lead for good. Miami twice got within four points in the final four minutes, but Joshua Beadle made a 3-pointer each time to regain a seven-point lead.

Beadle finished with 13 points, Elijah Strong had 11 and Donald Hand Jr. 10 for Boston College (9-5, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Senior Matthew Cleveland led Miami (4-9, 0-2) in scoring for the third straight game, totaling 21 points. Lynn Kidd had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Djobet scored 10.

Miami went 1 for 14 from the field during a stretch in the second half to allow Boston College back in it. The Hurricanes finished at 28.6% shooting after halftime.

Both teams play a road game on Saturday, with Miami going against Virginia Tech and Boston College facing Georgia Tech.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball