Boston, MA
Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond – The Boston Globe
ERIC BENET Holiday cheer abounds at this pair of shows by the R&B smooth-talker, who released the seasonally celebratory “This Christmas” earlier this autumn. The collection — his first holiday offering — includes traditional cuts like “Oh, Holy Night” and “Please Come Home for Christmas” as well as two originals: The call for grace “Christmas Morning,” which features two of his daughters, and the swinging “It’s Christmas,” a duet with jazz-soul vocalist Stacey Ryan. Dec. 8, 6 and 9:30 p.m. City Winery Boston. 617-933-8047, citywinery.com/boston
THEY ARE GUTTING A BODY OF WATER “LOTTO,” the latest full-length from this Philly sludge-gaze outfit, attempts to make sense of the world’s chaos by unpacking modern society amid gargantuan riffs and rumbling drums. Dec. 9, 7 p.m. Arts at the Armory, Somerville. artsatthearmory.org
PINK MOUNTAINTOPS This side project of Stephen McBean, who fronts the hulking prog-punk outfit Black Mountain, adds a bit more power-psych twinkle while still hitting hard. Dec. 10, 7 p.m. Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge. 617-864-3278, mideastoffers.com
MAURA K. JOHNSTON
JASON RINGENBERG Ringenberg has traveled some in his musical career, from the high-test, slash-and-burn alt-country of Jason and the Scorchers to the music he makes for kids (and grown-ups) as Farmer Jason. Along the way, he picked up a Lifetime Achievement award from the Americana Music Association. Dec. 5, 8 p.m. $17. The Parlour, 1119 North Main St., Providence. 401-383-5858. www.theparlourri.com
THE TALKING HEARTS’ HONKY TONK HOLIDAY It’s a holiday dance party with these local purveyors of ’60s- and ’70s-vintage country music. And if you need to learn some moves or freshen up what you’ve got, show up a half hour early for free dance lessons. Dec. 6, 8 p.m. $30. Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. 617-776-6896. www.burren.com
ANNA TIVEL AND JEFFREY MARTIN These partners, both with recent records (Tivel: “Animal Poem”; Martin: “Thank God We Left the Garden”) are touring together again. Tivel describes the proceedings as follows: “I kick things off nightly with new songs in old pants. Then Jeffrey reminds us all how to access the very good molten core of humanity.” Dec. 9 and 10, 8 p.m. $35. Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org
STUART MUNRO
TIGER MOAN BATTLE OF THE SAXES Singer and multi-instrumentalist Amy Kucharik and her vintage blues outfit hold a first Sunday residency featuring special guests each month. This time, it’s a duel between two local saxophone stars: John Clark and Erica Risti. Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. $20-$25. The Burren Back Room, 247 Elm St., Somerville. burren.com/music
ERIC MINTEL QUARTET’S A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Mosesian Arts Centers’ Chords and Cocktails series presents pianist-composer Mintel’s group featuring saxophonist-flutist Nelson Hill, bassist Jack Hegyi, and drummer Dave Mohn, well known for their Dave Brubeck tributes, performing Vince Guaraldi’s beloved score for 1965’s classic “Peanuts” animated special. Dec. 9, 7 p.m. $29-$40. Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. mosesianarts.org
DAVID LEACH QUARTET GBH Jazz Nights presents pianist, composer, and poet Leach with saxophonist Lihi Haruvi, drummer Dor Herskovits, and ubiquitous bassist John Lockwood, performing originals rooted in jazz improvisation, while incorporating influences from American folk, 20th-century classical, progressive metal, and more. Dec. 11, 5:30 p.m. Free, registration encouraged. GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. wgbh.org/events
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
TALLIS SCHOLARS Under the leadership of founding director Peter Phillips, the sterling British vocal ensemble makes its customary Adventide appearance on the Boston Early Music Festival concert stage. This year’s program features English music dedicated to the Virgin Mary, by composers including Tallis, Taverner, Byrd, Britten, and Matthew Martin. St. Paul Church, Cambridge. Dec. 5, 8 p.m. 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
BOSTON BAROQUE Former Boston Baroque assistant conductor Filippo Ciabatti makes his public company debut leading the company’s annual historically informed performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” featuring soloists Amanda Forsythe, Paula Murrihy, Thomas Cooley, and Roderick Williams with the Boston Baroque Orchestra and a 25-voice chorus. Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 7, 3 p.m. NEC’s Jordan Hall. 617-987-8600, baroque.boston
MISTRAL MUSIC This local ensemble helmed by Julie Scolnik welcomes the holidays with its traditional Baroque Big Band program, featuring a large baroque ensemble and several assorted soloists performing music by Bach, Handel, Rameau, and more. Dec. 6, 5 p.m. St. Paul’s Church, Brookline; Dec. 7, 4 p.m., West Parish Church, Andover. 978-474-6222, www.mistralmusic.org
A.Z. MADONNA
BLACK NATIVITY One of the most vibrant and cherished holiday traditions hereabouts, “Black Nativity” tells the Nativity story through the lens of the Black experience, with a cast of more than 75 performers. At the helm once again is Roxbury native Voncille Ross, who has been directing “Black Nativity” for nearly two decades. The production combines the “song-play” of legendary poet and playwright Langston Hughes with the music of Boston composer-arranger John Andrew Ross. All of it is gloriously sung by talented sopranos, baritones, and tenors, punctuated by percussion and expressive dance under the leadership of ballet mistress and principal dancer Desiree Springer. Narrating the show is Milton Wright, who also serves as the adult chorus director, working with his associate Marilyn Andry, while Steven Hunter Sr. is the orchestral director. Dec. 5-21. Presented by the National Center of Afro-American Artists at Robert J. Orchard Stage, Emerson Paramount Center. 617-824- 8400, www.blacknativity.org
SWEENEY CLAUS: THE DEMON FATHER OF SLEET STREET It says something heartening about our fair city that so many Bostonians make room on their holiday calendars for Ryan Landry’s brand of inspired mayhem. His new show is a marriage of the Santa Claus story with “Sweeney Todd,” the 1979 Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler classic about a vengeful barber whose dotty helpmeet turns his victims into meat pies. While incorporating video more prominently than he has in the past, Landry blends the melodies of musical-theater classics with his own deranged lyrics, in a combination of homage and desecration. Directed by Kiki Samko and featuring a stellar performance as Sweeney by Thain Bertin in his first outing with Landry’s Gold Dust Orphans. Playing Sweeney’s accomplice, Mrs. Leaveit, is Landry himself. Through Dec. 21. Production by Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans. At Iron Wolf Theatre, South Boston Lithuanian Citizens’ Association, South Boston. Age guideline is 18-plus. www.tickettailor.com/events/thegolddustorphans/1732579/
MIDWINTER REVELS: A SCANDINAVIAN STORY FOR CHRISTMAS In Revels’s annual celebration of the winter solstice, inspired this year by Gregory Maguire’s “Matchless,” a young boy finds “warmth and light in the darkest days” on an island “so far north that it snows from September to April.” Cast members perform Scandinavian songs and dances, accompanied by an intergenerational chorus. Directed by Debra Wise, with music direction by Elijah Botkin and a script by Wise, Patrick Swanson, and Nicole Galland. On hand will be such performers as David Coffin, David Keohane, Kristian Espiritu, Joshua Wolf Coleman, and Eliza Fichter. Dec. 12-28, with a “virtual encore viewing window” Dec. 28-Jan. 11. Sanders Theatre, Harvard Square, Cambridge. 617-496-2222, boxoffice.harvard.edu
DON AUCOIN
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S ’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… The celebrated Canadian troupe’s Christmas show illuminates the joy of the season with a show filled with spectacular lighting, lively (loud!) music that transforms familiar tunes, and feats of physical prowess that range from the riotous to the breathtaking. A sweet story line based on the titular book is icing on the cake. Great for all ages. Through Dec. 14. $36 and up. Boch Center Wang Theatre. www.bochcenter.org
JOSÉ MATEO BALLET THEATRE’S THE NUTCRACKER Now in its 37th year, this charming, intimate, and affordable production boasts a simplified story line, Tchaikovsky’s luminous score, and more than 100 children joining in a cast of professionals. This one tends toward warm and cozy, which makes it especially accessible for some younger viewers. Dec. 6-Dec. 21. $25 and up. Strand Theatre, Dorchester. www.ballettheatre.org
SEÁN CURRAN COMPANY / DECENT DANCE Boston native Seán Curran fosters his hometown connections with this collaboration involving one of his company’s founding members, Tony Guglietti, alongside his longtime partner Kristin Wagner (collectively Decent Dance) plus Brian Feigenbaum for “Through Lines.” Celebrating legacy, lineage, and connections, the intergenerational concert features members of Curran’s New York-based company joined by dancers from Boston and beyond. Dec. 6-7. $25.31 and up. Dance Complex, Cambridge. www.dancecomplex.org
UNITED DANCE COMPANY Championing inclusion and working with the Down syndrome population, the company showcases rigorously trained artists of diverse abilities in “The Extraordinary Nutcracker.” An original interpretation billed as the area’s only version of the ballet that is narrated, the family-friendly production transforms a young girl’s holiday journey into a tale about courage, creativity, and love. Dec. 6-7. $46.75. Calderwood Pavilion. www.uniteddance.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
MARTIN PURYEAR: NEXUS Puryear represented the United States at the Venice Biennale in 2019 with a display of enigmatic sculptural works that, taken together, echoed the fractious unease of a country at war with itself, confronting old ghosts thought long laid to rest. So, what now? “Nexus,” not quite so pointed — it spans several decades of the artist’s 50-plus-year career, the first long-view survey in almost two decades — but it isn’t afraid to connect the obvious dots. Included in this show is “A Column for Sally Hemings,” made for that 2019 Venice display, which pays homage to the enslaved woman who bore Thomas Jefferson five children; in it, an iron rod topped with a leg shackle embeds in a fluted classical column, an emblem of a fire that never seems to go out. Through Feb. 8. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, mfa.org
AN INDIGENOUS PRESENT For a long time — and until very recently — “Indigenous” and “present” might have been regarded by the broader public as anathema. The dynamic culture of Indigenous peoples has survived years of assault, neglect, and disregard as archeology, but it’s risen in recent years to greater and greater prominence to arrive at a moment when its vibrance is undeniable. This exhibition takes in much of that arc: Spanning 100 years of art made by Indigenous people, it underscores cultural resilience over generations of hardship to arrive on triumph in the here and now. Through March 8. Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
GRACE HARTIGAN: THE GIFT OF ATTENTION In 1958, Hartigan was the only woman selected for “The New American Painting” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, the launching pad for Abstract Expressionism as a popular movement and the foundation of the biggest careers in American art history (Jackson Pollock, anyone?). Hartigan enjoyed a few fruitful years of wide acclaim, but her star fell as others became ensconced in the firmament. Why is anyone’s guess, though being a woman was rarely good for one’s career. Hartigan’s restless energy compelled her to stray far stylistically from the tried-and-true AbEx herd, which made her harder to pin down — also not a great career move, perhaps, but ultimately far better for the soul. Through Jan. 11. Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland, Maine. 207-775-6148, portlandmuseum.org
MURRAY WHYTE
OBJECTS OF DEVOTION In the best circumstances, art is made with singular intention and a surrender to process. Art-making, in that light, can be seen as spiritual; time in the studio, with its own ritual practices and altars, is like going to church. In this show, curator Stace Brandt explores the kinship between art and spirituality, from how pragmatic limitations like space, time, and money shape artwork to how personal history entwines with it. Artists include Jon Doucette, Jamieson Edson, and Virgilijs Tilks. Through Jan. 17. Distillery Gallery, 516 East 2nd Street, South Boston. www.distillery-gallery.com/exhibitions/2025/objects
CATE McQUAID
COMEDY FOR JAMAICA FEATURING KAM PATTERSON One of the newest “Saturday Night Live” cast members for season 51, Patterson headlines this benefit to help Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Dec. 7, 6 p.m. $51.55. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
CRISTINA MARIANI “I’m just sensitive, emotionally. I’ll cry in movies when my favorite character dies. Like when Leonardo DiCaprio died, I cried so hard they kicked me out of ‘Django Unchained.’” Dec. 5-6, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $28.95-$31.95 The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge. www.thecomedystudio.com
POPCORN COMEDY Peter Liu, who cofounded this monthly show, recently moved to New York City, but is back to headline the last edition of the year. Hosted by Guerby Laguerre and Jason Fishman, with Nicholas Stubblefield, Shelby LeCuyer, Sarah May, and Kevin Lemory. Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. $23.18. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. www.eventbrite.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
In 2021, 60 Minutes visited the offices of robotics company Boston Dynamics and met an early model of its humanoid robot, Atlas.
It could run, jump and maintain its balance when pushed. But it was bulky, with stiff, mechanical movements.
Now, Atlas can cartwheel, dance, run with human-like fluidity, twist its arms, head and torso 360 degrees, and pick itself up off of the floor using only its feet.
“They call it a humanoid, but he stands up in a way no human could possibly stand up,” correspondent Bill Whitaker told Overtime. “His limbs can bend in ways ours can’t.”
Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter told Whitaker that Atlas’ “superhuman” range of motion is keeping with the company’s vision for humanoid robots.
“We think that’s the way you should build robots. Don’t limit yourself to what people can do, but actually go beyond,” Playter said.
Whitaker watched demonstrations of the latest Atlas model at Boston Dynamics’ headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. Rather than turning around to walk in the other direction, Atlas can simply rotate its upper torso 180 degrees.
“For us to turn around, we have to physically turn around,” he told Overtime. “Atlas just pivots on his core.”
Boston Dynamics’ head of robotics research, Scott Kuindersma, told Whitaker that Atlas doesn’t have wires that cross its the joints of the limbs, torso and head, allowing continuous rotation for tasks and easier maintenance of the robot.
“The robot’s not really limited in its range of motion,” Kuindersma told Whitaker. “One of the reliability issues that you often find in robots is that their wires start to break over time… we don’t have any wires that go across those rotating parts anymore.”
Another upgrade to the Atlas humanoid robot is its AI brain, powered by Nvidia chips.
Atlas’ AI can be trained to do tasks. One way is through teleoperation, in which a human controls the robot. Using virtual reality gear, the teleoperator trains Atlas to do a specific task, repeating it multiple times until the robot succeeds.
Whitaker watched a teleoperation training session. A Boston Dynamics’ machine learning scientist showed Atlas how to stack cups and tie a knot.
Kuindersma told Whitaker robot hands pose a complex engineering problem.
“Human hands are incredible machines that are very versatile. We can do many, many different manipulation tasks with the same hand,” Kuindersma said.
Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas has only three digits on each hand, which can swing into different positions or modes.
“They can act as if they were a hand with these three digits, or this digit can swing around and act more like a thumb,” Kuindersma said.
“It allows the robot to have different shaped grasps, to have two-finger opposing grasp to pick up small objects. And then also make its hands very wide, in order to pick up large objects.”
Kuindersma said the robot has tactile sensors on its fingers, which provide information to Atlas’ neural network so the robot can learn how to manipulate objects with the right amount of pressure.
But Kuindersma said there is still room to improve teleoperation systems.
“Being able to precisely control not only the shape and the motion, but the force of the grippers, is actually an interesting challenge,” Kuindersma told Whitaker.
“I think there’s still a lot of opportunity to improve teleoperation systems, so that we can do even more dexterous manipulation tasks with robots.”
Whitaker told Overtime, “There is quite a bit of hype around these humanoids right now. Financial institutions predict that we will be living with millions, if not billions, of robots in our future. We’re not there yet.”
Whitaker asked Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter if the humanoid hype was getting ahead of reality.
“There is definitely a hype cycle right now. Part of that is created by the optimism and enthusiasm we see for the potential,” Playter said.
“But while AI, while software, can sort of move ahead at super speeds… these are machines and building reliable machines takes time… These robots have to be reliable. They have to be affordable. That will take time to deploy.”
The video above was produced by Will Croxton. It was edited by Scott Rosann.
Boston, MA
Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot – The Boston Globe
Gonell was one of the officers who defended the central West Front entrance to the Capitol that day as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and hundreds of Trump’s supporters broke into the building, echoing his false claims of a stolen election. Gonell was dragged into the crowd by his shoulder straps as he tried to fight people off. He almost suffocated. In court, he testified about injuries to his shoulder and foot that still bother him to this day.
“They have tried to erase what I did” with the pardons and other attempts to play down the violent attack, Gonell said. “I lost my career, my health, and I’ve been trying to get my life back.”
Five years since the siege, Gonell and some of the other police officers who fought off the rioters are still coming to terms with what happened, especially after Trump was decisively elected to a second term last year and granted those pardons. Their struggle has been compounded by statements from the Republican president and some GOP lawmakers in Congress minimizing the violence that the officers encountered.
“It’s been a difficult year,” said Officer Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who was also injured as he fought near Gonell in a tunnel on the West Front. Hodges was attacked several times, crushed by the rioters between heavy doors and beaten in the head as he screamed for help.
“A lot of things are getting worse,” Hodges said.
More than 140 police officers were injured during the fighting on Jan. 6, which turned increasingly brutal as the hours wore on.
Former Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger took over the department six months after the riot. He said in a recent interview that many of his officers were angry when he first arrived, not only because of injuries they suffered but also “they resented the fact that they didn’t have the equipment they needed, the training they needed ” to deal with the unexpectedly violent crowd.
Several officers who fought the rioters told The Associated Press that the hardest thing to deal with has been the effort by many to play down the violence, despite a massive trove of video and photographic evidence documenting the carnage.
Trump has called the rioters he pardoned, including those who were most violent toward the police, “patriots” and “hostages.” He called their convictions for harming the officers and breaking into the building “a grave national injustice.”
“I think that was wrong,” Adam Eveland, a former District of Columbia police officer, said of Trump’s pardons. If there were to be pardons, Eveland said, Trump’s administration should have reviewed every case.
“I’ve had a hard time processing that,” said Eveland, who fought the rioters and helped to push them off the Capitol grounds.
The pardons “erased what little justice there was,” said former Capitol Police Officer Winston Pingeon, who was part of the force’s Civil Disturbance Unit on Jan. 6. He left the force several months afterward.
Pushback from lawmakers and the public
Hodges and Gonell have been speaking out about their experiences since July 2021, when they testified before the Democratic-led House committee that investigated Jan 6. Since then, they have received support but also backlash.
At a Republican-led Senate hearing in October on political violence, Hodges testified again as a witness called by Democrats. After Hodges spoke about his experience on Jan. 6, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked the other witnesses whether they supported Trump’s pardons of the rioters, including for those who injured Hodges. Three of the witnesses, all called by Republicans, raised their hands.
“I don’t know how you would say it wasn’t violent,” says Hodges, who is still a Washington police officer.
It has not just been politicians or the rioters who have doubted the police. It also is friends and family.
“My biggest struggle through the years has been the public perception of it,” Eveland said, and navigating conversations with people close to him, including some fellow police officers, who do not think it was a big deal.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that, but ideology is a pretty powerful thing,” he said.
Improvements in safety and support
As police officers struggled in the aftermath, Manger, the former Capitol Police chief, said the department had to figure out how to better support them. There were no wellness or counseling services when he arrived, he said, and they were put in to place.
“The officers who were there and were in the fight — we needed to make sure that they got the help that they needed,” Manger said.
Manger, who retired in May, also oversaw major improvements to the department’s training, equipment, operational planning and intelligence. He said the Capitol is now “a great deal safer” than it was when he arrived.
“If that exact same thing happened again, they would have never breached the building, they would have never gotten inside, they would have never disrupted the electoral count,” Manger said.
Pingeon, the former Capitol Police officer, said he believes the department is in many ways “unrecognizable” from what it was on Jan. 6 and when he left several months later.
“It was a wake-up call,” he said.
Pingeon, who was attacked and knocked to the ground as he tried to prevent people from entering the Capitol, said Jan. 6 was part of the reason he left the department and moved home to Massachusetts. He has dealt with his experience by painting images of the Capitol and his time there, as well as advocating for nonviolence. He said he now feels ready to forgive.
“The real trauma and heartache and everything I endured because of these events, I want to move past it,” he said.
Gonell left the Capitol Police because of his injuries. He has not returned to service, though he hopes to work again. He wrote a book about his experience, and he said he still has post-traumatic stress disorder related to the attack.
While many of the officers who were there have stayed quiet about their experiences, Eveland said he decided that it was important to talk publicly about Jan. 6 to try to reach people and “come at it from a logical standpoint.”
Still, he said, “I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that just because something happened to me and was a major part of my world doesn’t mean that everyone else has to understand that or even be sympathetic to that.”
He added: “The only thing I can do is tell my story, and hopefully the people who respect me will eventually listen.”
Jackets shook off a sluggish start to dispose of Boston College, 65-53.
Georgia Tech guard Chas Kelley III finishes a layup past Boston College’s Marko Radunovic on Saturday, Jan. 3 at McCamish Pavilion. (Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics)
Trailing late in the second half Saturday at McCamish Pavilion, Georgia Tech needed a spark. Cole Kirouac delivered.
The 7-foot freshman found himself unguarded inside the arc on the left side of the court. Without hesitation he bolted toward the rim, took flight and slammed home the ball with two hands to tie the score at 46 with seven minutes left on the clock.
Kirouac’s dunk brought many of the 5,978 to their feet and changed the energy in the building while the Yellow Jackets threatened to lose to the worst team in the ACC. Instead, Tech took the lead shortly after Kirouac’s play and never trailed again in a 65-53 victory.
“Originally, it was just supposed to be a handoff. I saw my man sagging off. I just took one dribble, went up and dunked it,” Kirouac said. “I feel like I was pretty tired in that moment. I feel like that energized me a lot. I think we had energy as a team, but I feel like it probably boosted it a little bit.”
Said Tech coach Damon Stoudamire: “That was a heck of a dunk he had. That ignited us, ignited the crowd. Proud of him and happy for him.”
Saturday’s victory was the 10th of the season for Tech — all 10 have come at home and all 10 have come against opponents which reside in Quadrant 4 of the NCAA’s NET rankings. Per that metric, Boston College was the ACC’s lowest-ranked team at No. 179 going into Saturday.
But the Jackets (10-5, 1-1 ACC), the ACC’s second-worst team in the NET, found themselves in a dogfight for much of the afternoon despite leading by 10 late in the first half. The Eagles (7-7, 0-1 ACC) had momentum on their side and led by four with 9:14 to play before wilting at the end.
Tech guard Lamar Washington flirted with a triple-double by finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Kowacie Reeves scored 16 and Baye Ndongo had 10 points and eight boards.
Twenty of Tech’s 65 points came from the free-throw line. The Jackets also had 23 fast break points — Boston College had none.
“We’re a good team,” Washington said. “When we play together and we play with confidence and we play how we’re supposed to play, we can — I feel like we can beat anybody in the nation.”
Tech was sluggish and sloppy at the outset, suffering through a field goal drought of 6:04 while missing nine of its first 10 shots. But a Ndongo layup followed by a Kam Craft 3 from the right corner tied the game at 11-all a little less than eight minutes into the fight.
The Jackets began to get a feel for things offensively from there and took their first lead on a Jaeden Mustaf layup at 13-12. Akai Fleming’s powerful finish from the right block 3 1/2 minutes later put the home team ahead 19-15.
Tech had six assists on its first seven made shots at that point.
Fleming’s score began an 10-2 Tech run that also included a Fleming dunk and two Fleming free throws that upped the lead to 27-17.
But the Jackets wouldn’t score the rest of the half and had to settle for a 27-24 lead at the break. The Eagles, despite shooting 9 of 34 from the floor, ended the period on a 7-0 run to close the gap.
“I was actually disappointed the last three minutes of the first half because BC, they’ve played a lot of games where they just rock you to sleep,” Stoudamire said. “You’ll feel like you’re in control of the game and then all of a sudden you lose a rhythm offensively, and then they start scoring some buckets and they hit a bank-shot 3 and you just have all kind of things start happening, and that’s when the game turned. The momentum of the game, it shifted. And we couldn’t find it back offensively.”
A back-and-forth first eight minutes of the second half saw Boston College finally tie the game at 36 before Tech squeaked ahead by four thanks to two Washington free throws and a Reeves layup.
The Eagles responded with a 7-0 run and took the lead on a Donald Hand Jr. 3, and then went up 43-40 on Chase Forte’s layup at the 10:33 mark. Boden Kapke’s putback after a missed free throw gave BC a 46-42 edge 64 seconds later.
That was the last little glimmer of hope the visitors had.
“We couldn’t have won games like this last year,” Stoudamire said. “The way I look at everything that’s happening, I think sometimes people get bent out of shape when you play teams and you don’t beat ‘em by how many points they want you to win by or different things of that nature. We went to Duke and we lost by six. We come back (Saturday) and it was kind of a grimy game.
“But we’ve been playing close games, so we’re seasoned in these games. Doesn’t matter who you play, you’re seasoned in ‘em, and I think that what you’ve seen. You didn’t see no panic with our guys coming down the stretch.”
Hand and Kapke both scored 13 for BC, which shot 18 of 66 from the field and 4 of 29 from long range.
Tech returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Syracuse (9-5, 0-1) at McCamish Pavilion.
Chad Bishop is a Georgia Tech sports reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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