Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Arkansas St
Men's Basketball Defeats Arkansas State, 76-70
December 21, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2001
HONOLULU (AP) - It was the kind of effort Boston College coach Al Skinner was looking for.
After being upset by Miami of Ohio in the first round of the Rainbow Classic, the 10th-ranked Eagles managed a workmanlike 76-70 victory over Arkansas State in the consolation round on Friday.
"Overall, it was a good effort," Skinner said. "The fact that we stayed even on the boards was important. And we were much more patient so we shot a better percentage."
The Eagles (10-1) got 32 rebounds, 12 offensive, and shot 47.5 percent from the field.
As it has for most of the season, Boston College turned to guard Troy Bell to lead the way. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, including four free throws over the final 90 seconds.
"I think a lot of the guys learned a lot from last night's loss," Bell said of Thursday's upset that knocked it from the ranks of the unbeaten. "I think a lot of the guys were emotionally worn out, but we sucked it up."
The Eagles struggled against Arkansas State (7-5), trailing early and then hanging on.
The Indians played without shotblocking 7-foot center Jason Jennings for 16 minutes of the first half because of foul trouble. Also in the first half, high scorer Nick Rivers broke his right leg. He's expected to miss six weeks.
Still, Boston College could not put away the pesky Indians and led by only three points with one minute left. But Bell made his free throws and Kenny Walls added three more points to put the game out of reach.
Walls was 7-of-9 from the field and finished with 18 points, while Jermaine Watson added 11 points. Bell, who entered the game shooting 53.5 percent from the field, was only 7-for-18, but converted the critical free throws.
The Eagles, who had been averaging 84.4 points, were held in check for the second consecutive game. Against Miami, they scored only 67 points.
After the Eagles took their biggest lead of the second half, 58-49, Jennings rallied Arkansas State. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half. In Thursday's loss to Georgia, Jennings tied the tournament record with eight blocks.
Skinner saluted the work of his freshman center Nate Doornekamp for his play against Jennings.
"Nate responded to the challenge," Skinner said. "We didn't give him a lot of help. He did well for a freshman against a senior, a potential NBA player."
Kolin Weaver, moving over to replace Jennings, had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Terrance Saulsberry had 12 points and 10 rebounds filling in for Rivers.
The Eagles put together a 19-8 run over the final 6:30 of the first half to take a 37-30 lead. Watson had seven points in the run and his basket at the 5:03 mark gave Boston College its first lead, 25-24, since early in the game.
