Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Michigan
No. 15 Men's Basketball Defeats Michigan, 83-74
December 01, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec 1, 2001
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Ryan Sidney treated his friends and family to a remarkable homecoming.
Playing across the street from where he starred in high school, Sidney had career highs with 29 points and 15 rebounds and added eight assists in No. 15 Boston College's 83-74 win over Michigan on Saturday.
Sidney had the best game of his career in front of his parents, other relatives, friends and even the children he once baby sat.
"I was pretty amped," said Sidney, who attended Pioneer and Huron high schools and grew up idolizing Michigan's Fab Five. "I came home. And when you come home, you can't be nothing but amped."
Troy Bell added 28 points for Boston College (5-0), which used a 11-0 run midway through the second half to rally past the Wolverines and take permanent command of what had been a back-and-forth game.
Michigan (2-3), which dropped its third straight, got 16 points apiece from Chris Young and Dommanic Ingerson. LaVell Blanchard added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The reception wasn't exactly entirely warm for Sidney, who was recruited by Michigan during his junior year at Huron. Michigan students in the courtside bleachers heckled him from the moment he walked on the floor during warmups.
"That added fuel to the fire," said Sidney, who transferred to Pioneer during his senior season and signed with Boston College while leading the Pioneers to the state's Class A regional title. "I was hoping I would get booed."
Sidney was nearly a one-man show early. The former sixth man, who has emerged as Boston College's leading offensive threat, scored 12 straight points in a span of 2:42 as Boston College turned an 18-15 deficit into a 27-23 lead with 7:06 left in the first half.
"I was in awe of how he played," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "We tried everything we could to stop him."
The Wolverines fought back to tie the game at 35 on LaVell Blanchard's 3-pointer with 1:41 to go. But Boston College took a 42-38 lead into halftime after the Eagles scored seven of the game's next 10 points, capped by Sidney's 3-pointer with one second left.
The Wolverines led 51-47 at the 14:26 mark after Ingerson sank the first of two free throws, Young hauled down the rebound on the second attempt and kicked it back out to the freshman guard, who made a 3-pointer.
But Boston College responded with its game-clinching run over the next 5:24, during which Michigan committed seven of its 22 turnovers and missed all four of its shots.
Down 58-51 with 9:20 left, the Wolverines got to 75-73 after Bernard Robinson converted a three-point play with 2:01 left. But Uka Agbai dropped in a 15-foot jumper, and Sidney tossed in a lay-up to clinch a Boston College victory.
Thanks to Sidney's contributions in the post, Boston College outrebounded Michigan 42-32 - including 19-10 on the offensive glass. The Eagles also scored 11 points off offensive rebounds, while Michigan notched only two points from follow-up shots.
