Hand's career-high double-double leads Boston College to a 69-60 win over The Citadel

BOSTON — Donald Hand Jr. scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, both career highs, as Boston College held off The Citadel 69-60 in a season opener on Monday night.

Hand was 4 of 14 shooting from the field but was 3 of 8 from long range and 11-for-11 from the line. Chad Venning scored 15 points and Elijah Strong knocked down his first four shots, including a 3-pointer, to finish with 11 points. Dion Brown, a transfer from UMBC, came off the bench and drilled a corner 3 on his first offensive possession.

Hand drilled a 3-pointer with 6:42 left to push Boston College's lead to 61-48 but Keynan Davis' 3 with 5:01 left pulled the Bulldogs back to within single digits, 63-54. The Bulldogs got no closer except for a layup by Brody Fox that made it 67-60 with 24 seconds left.

Fox paced The Citadel with 18 points and Cameron Glover and Davis each contributed 10.

Earl Grant is now 5-0 against The Citadel, where he was an assistant from 2002-04. Three of his wins came while coaching College of Charleston and he is now 4-0 in season-opening games at Boston College.