Chestnut Hill, Mass. – There were many reasons why Syracuse lost to Boston College on Saturday.

Start with Syracuse’s whopping 18 turnovers and BC’s 22 points off those turnovers.

Throw in Syracuse’s 14-for-22 free throw shooting (63%) among the things that cost the Orange the win on Saturday.

Follow that with SU’s defense giving up 36 second-half points to a BC team that came into Saturday’s game averaging just 67 points per game.

But the biggest reason was the most obvious ― the stark disparity in production between the two teams’ benches.

Boston College got 20 points from its bench compared to just two points that Syracuse got from its reserves.

Bench contribution isn’t always about points, but Syracuse’s bench didn’t provide much of any contribution.

Syracuse’s reserve quartet of Kiyan Anthony, Tyler Betsey, Sadiq White and Akir Souare combined for just six rebounds. They went 0-for-6 from the field. They were 2-for-4 from the foul line.

It was, in all, 47 minutes of nothingness in Syracuse’s 81-73 overtime loss to BC here at the Conte Forum on Saturday.

“No one can play 40 minutes the way we’re trying to play,’’ SU coach Adrian Autry said. ”This team is good, and this team is going to be good because of our depth.

“I’m not going to stop playing guys, all right?’’ Autry added. “We’ve just got to do a better job.’’

Coaches often have substitution patterns. Lately, a pattern has developed as a result of Syracuse’s substitution patterns.

In the early going of Syracuse’s game against Boston College on Saturday, the Orange moved out to a 15-6 lead.

At that point, Autry looked to his bench, taking three starters out of the game. A few seconds later, a fourth sub was sent to the scorer’s table.

Boston College would inch its way back into the game, outscoring the Orange 11-to-1 over the next five minutes.

This has become a trend. Syracuse had similarly staked itself to an early lead only to see it dwindle as subs were put into the game in recent wins over Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Florida State.

On this day, however, letting Boston College find its footing would result in tripping up the Orange.

“We started off and we made the subs and we stalled,” Autry said after the loss. “But that happens in a game. You know, we’ve got to defend. We’ve got to keep fighting. I thought they did that in the first half.

“You know, I didn’t think that that was the issue,’’ he said, referring to his early substitutions.

The same scenario would play out again at the start of the second half.

Syracuse led 44-41 when reserves Anthony and Betsey came in for Naithan George and Nate Kingz at the 13:49 mark.

Boston College scored six straight to take a 47-44 lead.

Kingz, who scored a season-high 27 points, said it’s not a starters or reserves issue. The issue, he said, is running the offense regardless of the lineup that’s on the court.

“We’ve just got to be able to execute no matter who’s in or out,’’ Kingz said. “We have to execute the offense, no matter what the group is.’’

Syracuse has gotten more from its bench in recent games. Just last Tuesday, Betsey made six 3-pointers en route to an 18-point performance in SU’s win over Florida State.

Anthony entered Saturday’s game averaging 9.8 points per game, although his numbers dip to 5.2 points against ACC competition.

“I have complete confidence in our (bench),’’ SU forward Donnie Freeman said. “They’ve come before. They’re talented. I’m not worried about that.’’

Asked what he expects of his reserves, Autry said, “What I expect from my starters.’’

“Any of these guys could possibly start on this team,’’ Autry added. “The expectation is for every player to play at a Level 5 defensively, communicate defensively, look out for each other, help each other, play together, share the basketball.

“It’s no different than what I ask of the five guys that begin the game.”