Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Massachusetts
Men's Basketball Defeats UMass, 80-78
December 08, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec 8, 2001
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Junior guard Troy Bell scored a career-high 34 points and sophomore guard Ryan Sidney registered 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Boston College to a thrilling 80-78 Commonwealth Classic victory over Massachusetts before a crowd of 8,526 fans in Conte Forum.
The victory marked the Eagles' third straight win over the Minutemen, their second consecutive win in the annual classic. Massachusetts won the classic's first five contests.
Sidney, who sustained a fractured jaw in the Eagles' practice on Thursday, Dec. 6, played 36 minutes despite having his jaw wired. The sophomore registered his fourth double-double of the season.
Bell shot 8-for-14 from the field and 15-for-16 from the foul line. He was 3-for-7 from three-point range.
The Eagles gained the victory after surviving a furious second-half rally by the visitors. BC led 44-21 at halftime and extended its margin to 26 points -- 49-23 -- with 18:16 to play. Massachusetts answered with a 30-8 run over the game's next 11 minutes to close its deficit to just four points at 57-53. Shannon Crooks, Micah Brand and Raheim Lamb each scored seven points for UMass (4-2) in this run.
Boston College (7-0) regrouped and used an 8-1 rally in a three-minute span to secure the victory. Bell netted six points in this stretch.
BC trailed 6-3 in the game's opening minutes, but held UMass without a field goal for more than 11 minutes to gain a 28-12 advantage with 7:02 left before intermission.
Game Notes: In addition to Bell and Sidney, three other Eagles scored in double figures. Senior Kenny Walls recorded 11 points, while junior Uka Agbai and sophomore Andrew Bryant each netted 10 points. The game marked the third time this season that five BC players have scored 10 or more points in the same game ... Bell's 15-for-16 effort from the foul line raised his season percentage to 89.4 percent. He is shooting 92.1 percent (35-for-38) in the team's last three games ... Bell has now scored 30 or more points five times in his 66-game collegiate career ... BC was outrebounded, 48-43 ... BC forced 18 turnovers, while committing just 13 turnovers. BC recorded nine steals and five blocked shots. Sidney and Agbai each registered two blocked shots ... BC has scored 80 or more points in each of its seven games this season.
