Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Harvard
Men's Basketball Downs Harvard, 84-77
December 22, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec 22, 2002
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) - Troy Bell scored 28 points and Craig Smith had 27 as Boston College won its fifth consecutive game and ended Harvard's five-game winning streak with an 84-77 victory on Sunday.
The Eagles (6-2) trailed only once in the game, in the first 2 1/2 minutes, but had to hang on after a late Harvard charge.
Patrick Harvey led Harvard (7-3) with 20 points and seven assists.
The Crimson trailed by 11 after Bell's two free throws with just over five minutes to play, but Jason Norman's 3-pointer with 2:58 left pulled the Crimson within 75-73.
Harvard turned the ball over on its next possession and Bell hit two free throws. The Crimson then missed three shots on their next trip, and a free throw by Smith gave BC a 78-73 lead with 1:10 left.
Sam Winter scored for Harvard to make it 78-75, but BC's Ryan Sidney hit a turnaround jumper to trigger a 6-0 run.
Harvard, which trailed 39-28 at halftime, opened the second half with an 8-2 run before Boston College responded with a 13-4 run to push the lead to 14.
Neither team held more than a five-point lead in the opening 9 1/2 minutes before BC pulled to a 33-22 edge with a 19-9 run over a 7:24 span. Smith ignited the run with six of the Eagles' first eight points. Bryant capped it with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
BC pushed its the lead to 39-24 before Harvard scored the final two baskets of the half.
With the win, the Eagles now hold a 32-9 lead in the series between the Boston-area schools.
Game Notes: Boston College shot 50.0 percent from the field, its second-best shooting effort of the season. The Eagles shot a season-high 52.2 percent in an overtime win over St. Bonaventure ... BC committed a season-high 19 turnovers, but forced a season-high 20 turnovers ... Troy Bell shot 14-for-14 from the free-throw line. The game marked the sixth time in his 99-game collegiate career that Bell has been perfect from the foul line with 10 or more attempts ... Bell has made 10 or more free throws in 21 games -- eight games as a freshman, six times as a sophomore, five times as a junior and twice this season ... Craig Smith tallied 27 points, one shy of his career high. The freshman is now averaging 21.6 points per game in his five starts ... Smith scored six points in the first half and 21 points in the second half. In eight games, the freshman has scored 52 first-half points, 94 second-half points and six overtime points.
