Landstown High graduate Donald Hand Jr. exited his Boston College team’s 70-64 home loss Thursday night to Stanford with 7:45 left in the first half. He went down on the court after his jumper was blocked, then walked off with assistance behind him and went straight to the locker room.
He returned to the BC bench in street clothes early in the second half.
Eagles coach Earl Grant said he does not have a time frame for Hand’s injury or to know the severity of it, but shared that he was moving around after the game and is scheduled to have an MRI Thursday.
“I don’t know (about a potential time frame),” said Grant. “I’m not a doctor. He looked good just now when I saw him in the locker room moving around.”
Hand is in his third season with Boston College. He has started in all 23 of the Eagles’ games this season and has averaged 34.2 minutes, 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, as well as recording three blocks and 12 steals.
Ebuka Okorie scored 22 points and Benny Gealer added 21 for the visiting Cardinal (16-9, 5-7 ACC) against the Eagles (9-15, 2-9) in BC’s fifth loss in a row.
In other games Wednesday night:
Syracuse 107, California 100, 2OT: With a generator supplying power to the dome because of a power outage in Syracuse, the Orange (14-11, 5-7 ACC) outlasted the Bears (17-8, 5-7) in double overtime.
Nate Kingz scored 27 points, J.J. Starling had 21, Naithan George and William Kyle III each had double-doubles, and Syracuse opened the second OT on an 8-2 spurt.
For Cal, former Virginia Cavalier Dai Dai Ames scored 23 points and former Virginia Tech and Delaware player John Camden made five 3s and scored 21 points.
Wake Forest 83, Georgia Tech 67: Juke Harris scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Mekhi Mason scored 17 points off the bench in Atlanta, and the Demon Deacons ended a five-game losing streak. Wake (12-12, 3-8 ACC) shot 53%.
Kowacie Reeves Jr. scored 18 points and Baye Ndongo scored 14 for the Yellow Jackets (11-14, 2-10).
No. 2 Michigan 87, Northwestern 75: L.J. Cason scored 13 of his 18 points after halftime, helping the Wolverines rally in Evanston, Illinois.
Yaxel Lendeborg added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Wolverines (23-1, 13-1 Big Ten) erased a 58-42 deficit in the second half of their ninth consecutive victory.
Michigan grabbed control with a 15-2 run. Lendeborg made a tiebreaking layup with 5:51 left, and Aday Mara’s alley-oop jam off a pass from Cason gave the Wolverines a 75-69 lead with 4:43 remaining.
Jayden Reid scored 20 points for the Wildcats in their fourth consecutive loss.
No. 6 Connecticut 80, Butler 70: Solo Ball scored 24 points and Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in Indianapolis.
Ball was 6 of 12 from 3-point range while Huskies guard Braylon Mullins scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half as Indiana’s reigning Mr. Basketball returned to his home state for the first time as a college player. UConn (23-2, 13-1 Big East) rebounded from Friday night’s loss at St. John’s and moved a half-game ahead of the Red Storm atop the conference standings.
Butler (13-12, 4-10), which lost its fifth in a row, was led by Drayton Jones with 15 points.
No. 14 Florida 86, Georgia 66: Xaivian Lee scored 18 points for Florida, which finally found its touch from 3-point range, leading from the opening tip in Athens.
The Gators (18-6, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) have won nine of 10 games — all but one of those victories by double-digit margins — and are alone atop the league standings.
Blue Cain scored 17 for Georgia (17-7, 5-6), which clearly missed top scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson, who sat out because of a shoulder injury.
No. 16 Texas Tech 78, Colorado 44: Donovan Atwell scored 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and JT Toppin matched a career high with 18 rebounds in his 46th career double-double.
Toppin, the Big 12’s top rebounder at 10.9 per game, also had 16 points in his league-high 15th double-double this season and 34th in 56 games since arriving at Texas Tech from New Mexico before last season. Christian Anderson added 14 points and seven assists for the host Red Raiders (18-6, 8-3).
Isaiah Johnson had 13 points for Colorado (14-11, 4-8), which shot a season-worst 29.1% (16 for 55).
VCU 77, La Salle 68: Lazar Djokovic’s career-high 26 points and eight rebounds in Philadelphia helped the Rams (19-6, 10-2 Atlantic 10) ensure sole possession of second place. Terrence Hill Jr. and Jadrian Tracey added 14 points each as the Rams extended their winning streak to eight games.
Rob Dockery led the Explorers (7-18, 3-9) in scoring, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. Former Catholic High star Ashton Walker added 14 points.
Liberty 77, New Mexico State 75: JJ Harper led Liberty with 19 points, and Zach Cleveland hit the winning jumper with one second left in Las Cruces as the Flames gained their 15th consecutive victory.
After a timeout, Cleveland caught the inbounds pass and banked a mid-range jumper high off the glass at the buzzer.
Liberty has the third-longest active win streak in the nation. Miami of Ohio has won 24 straight and Saint Louis 17 in a row.
Harper added three steals for the Flames (21-3, 13-0 Conference USA). Kaden Metheny scored 18 points, and Cleveland had 15.
Jemel Jones finished with 23 points, four assists and three steals for the Aggies (11-13, 4-10).
Boston University 85, Army 68: Ben Defty’s 24 points and 9-of-10 field-goal shooting led the Terriers (11-15, 6-7 Patriot League) in West Point, New York.
The Black Knights (10-16, 4-9) were led by Jacen Holloway’s 19 points. Jaxson Bell added 13 points and two steals, and Ryan Curry had nine points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
UNC Greensboro 92, VMI 71: Clinton Efinda and KJ Younger scored 21 points each for the host Spartans (11-15, 7-6 Southern Conference), whose staff includes former Old Dominion assistant Bryant Stith under head coach Mike Jones, a former Radford assistant. Justin Neely had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Linus Holmstrom led the Keydets (6-20, 1-12) finishing with 23 points and four steals, but they lost their 11th consecutive game. VMI also got 20 points and 10 rebounds from TJ Johnson.
Women
No. 1 Connecticut 94, Creighton 44: Azzi Fudd had 19 points, including three 3-pointers to become the 10th player in UConn history with 250 career 3s, as the Huskies (26-0, 15-0 Big East) cruised in Storrs.
Allie Ziebell had 20 points and Sarah Strong finished with 16 as UConn won its 42nd consecutive game. Elizabeth Gentry had 12 points for the Bluejays (12-13, 8-8).
No. 2 UCLA 86, No. 13 Michigan State 63: Lauren Betts had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists as UCLA pushed its winning streak to 18 games. Kiki Rice finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for the visiting Bruins (24-1, 14-0 Big Ten).
Rashunda Jones scored 15 for the Spartans (20-5, 9-5), who have dropped three of their last four games.
No. 19 West Virginia 106, Central Florida 56: Former Norfolk State star Kierra Wheeler had 18 points and nine rebounds to help the Mountaineers (21-5, 11-3 Big 12) win their fourth consecutive game. WVU had six double-digit scorers and a 41-0 edge in points off turnovers.
George Mason 72, Dayton 61: Jada Brown’s six 3-pointers and 20 points guided the Patriots (16-7, 11-1 Atlantic 10) past the Flyers (13-12, 6-8) before 12,598 in Ohio. Hampton High alumna Kennedy Harris had 14 points for George Mason.
Rhode Island 85, VCU 42: Host URI (22-2, 12-0 Atlantic 10), which is knocking on the door of the national top 25, went ahead 22-2 and handed VCU (8-17, 4-9) its most lopsided loss since Minnesota’s victory in 2017.
Vanessa Harris had 16 points and six rebounds for URI, which is coached by Dawn Staley’s former Virginia backcourt teammate Tammi Reiss.
Richmond 75, St. Bonaventure 52: The Spiders (21-4, 11-1 Atlantic 10) pulled away from the Bonnies (14-12, 5-9) at Robins Center behind Maggie Doogan’s 23 points and 11 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the season.
James Madison 60, Appalachian State 53: Lake Taylor High graduate Ashanti Barnes had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the visiting Dukes (19-8, 10-4), who shot 57.7% (15 of 26) in the second half after a dismal first half against App State (10-14, 3-10). They have won five games in a row.
Barnes, in her third season with the Dukes, became the 35th woman to score 1,000 JMU points. She’s now at 1,014.
Radford 73, UNC Asheville 45: The Highlanders (17-10, 9-3 Big South) outscored the host Bulldogs 22-11 in the first quarter and 24-7 in the fourth.
Catholic High graduate Cate Carlson had 11 points and was one of four Radford players to score in double figures. Joi Williams led them with 19 points, six assists and four steals.
Longwood 75, High Point 73, OT: The Lancers (18-6, 9-2), who trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, rallied in North Carolina to pull within a half-game of the Panthers (21-4, 10-2) for the Big South lead.
Frances Ulysse’s offensive rebound and putback with 6.7 seconds on the clock for Longwood forced overtime. Two Jasmine Peaks free throws with 4.3 seconds to go in the second OT proved decisive.
