The Boston College Eagles (6-1) men’s basketball team defeated the Boise State Broncos (5-2) 63-61 on Tuesday night to win the Cayman Islands Classic Championship.

The Eagles played three games in three days and recorded wins over Old Dominion and Missouri State as well as the Broncos. 

Some parts weren’t pretty, but Boston College found a way to come out on top and showed a lot about itself as a team. 

Below are three takeaways from the classic. 

Team Can Handle Adversity

Boston College’s road to a title wasn’t the easiest by any means. After a dominant 82-52 win over Old Dominion on Sunday night, the team was put to the test against Missouri State in the semifinals on Monday which took two three-pointers in the final seconds of the second half and overtime to come out on top. The Eagles found themselves down two points with 1:39 left in the regulation and down as many as six in overtime but found a way to come back and win. 

In the championship game against Boise State, Boston College did not have a lead until the final 2:07 of the first half. As much as the Broncos fought back, the Eagles proved they could handle themselves. They went on two big runs in the contest, one in each half, battled back anytime they got behind, and made a clutch shot in a high pressure moment.  Boston College’s pair of come from behind wins at a neutral site showed that it can handle any adversity brought its way. 

Still Have a Lot to Work On

Like the beginning of the young season, the Eagles time in the tournament was not pretty. Even though Boston College came out victorious, there are a lot of things the team needs to work on. Some of the biggest include not giving up leads, fouls, and turnovers. In their final two games, the Eagles had to battle back from adversity because they blew leads in both contests. 

In the semifinals, Boston College recorded 14 turnovers and 19 fouls which included forward Elijah Strong’s foul with 29 seconds to go in regulation that gave Missouri State a 64-61 lead and made the Eagles need a three. The finals were worse as they recorded 18 turnovers and 20 fouls. 

Boston College’s schedule gets harder as the team hosts Dartmouth on Friday and South Carolina on Dec. 3, then opens ACC play with a road game against Wake Forest on Dec. 7. The Eagles showed they have the talent to potentially be conference contenders this year, but have a lot to work on to get to that point. 

This Team is Better Than Expected 

After only retaining seven players from last season’s roster, there were a lot of questions surrounding how this Boston College team would look this season. Eight new players joined the program, four out of the transfer portal and four freshmen, so the predictions weren’t promising. The Eagles were projected to finish in last place in the ACC men’s preseason poll. Now, they are sitting at 6-1 and although they have yet to play a Power 6 team, no one could’ve asked for a better start from them. 

BOSTON – The Boston Marathon is finally paying runners who were due prize money after other runners who finished ahead of them were later disqualified for doping.

The Boston Athletic Association (BAA), which oversees the race, announced Tuesday it will issue “voluntary payments” Tuesday to any runners who were “adversely affected by doping offenses at B.A.A. events.”

2014 Boston Marathon

The BAA started offering prize money for the Boston Marathon back in 1986. The most notable case was 2014 Boston Marathon winner Buzunesh Deba.

Deba will now get $103,000 from the BAA. She’ll receive $75,000 for moving up from second to first in 2014, in addition to a $25,000 bonus for setting the course record and an additional $3,000 for moving up from seventh to sixth in the 2016 race.

Rita Jeptoo won the race that year and Deba finished second. But two years later, the BAA took the title from Jeptoo because of doping. Deba became not only the official winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, but she also became the official course record holder with her time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 59 seconds.

Yet, she never got the extra prize money, until now. That’s because the BAA has spent years trying to get back the $100,000 they gave to Jeptoo.

Back in May, a Boston Marathon fan decided he would pay Deba $75,000 out of his own pocket. She told the Wall Street Journal that money was “life changing.”

Now she’ll have more to add to that.

Boston Marathon payments

Other runners who’ll be getting checks from the BAA include Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan and 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden. Flanagan is getting $6,000 in back payments, while Linden will be paid $3,200.

“We are supporting athletes who competed in our events, and who believed they would be rewarded for their top finishing place,” BAA CEO Jack Fleming said in a statement. “We are doing what we can to ensure fair competition among athletes, and we will always seek to play host to the fairest of playing fields at all of our events.”

The BAA said it’s “identifying and contacting athletes whose results were re-ranked.” Any runner who may qualify can learn more about the process on the BAA website.

Tensions are still running high along the North Shores as two teachers unions there remain at odds with their school committees over contract negotiations.

The labor disputes are turning into the longest teacher strikes in Massachusetts’ modern history, and it still looks like there’s no solution in sight for educators in Beverly and Marblehead.

Educators from around the state will be rallying on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the State House, demanding a meeting with Governor Maura Healey to address the ongoing strikes.

In Beverly, the strike will be entering its twelfth day on Tuesday, which would make it the longest educator strike in modern state history. The school committee there is now refusing to negotiate because neither district made a court-ordered deadline.

Dozens of teachers lined the street outside a Beverly City Council meeting as their strike is poised to set a record for longest in recent Massachusetts history. 

Follow NBC10 Boston:
https://instagram.com/nbc10boston
https://tiktok.com/@nbc10boston
https://facebook.com/NBC10Boston
Tweets by NBC10Boston

A fact finding process is underway in both district, and a hearing is scheduled for next week. Unfortunately, that means thousands of students who have already missed roughly two weeks of school could lose more. That’s as teachers in these districts continue to have their pay docked.

“Cutting off pay right before Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays is clearly a tactic to bully educators and force the BTA back to work without a living wage for paras,” co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association Julia Brotherton said.

A judge had said fines would be waived Friday if the sides could reach an agreement by 6 p.m. Sunday.

Follow NBC10 Boston:
https://instagram.com/nbc10boston
https://tiktok.com/@nbc10boston
https://facebook.com/NBC10Boston
Tweets by NBC10Boston

City officials said they were left with no choice.

“Nobody here for a second wants to withhold a bit of anyone’s pay, but we’re stuck,” Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said.

Meanwhile, in Marblehead, the strike has reached 11 days, but things are just as heated. In fact, on Sunday, two school committee members were actually chased to their cars by angry parents and teachers.