Boston College
Seton Hall*
Men's Basketball Defeats Seton Hall, 67-63
February 16, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb 16, 2004
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Craig Smith scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and Boston College held Seton Hall to five baskets in the final 13:50 to rally for a 67-63 victory Monday night.
Louis Hinnant hit a go-ahead layup with 4:02 to play and Jermaine Watson made eight free throws in the final 2:25 as the Eagles (17-8, 6-6 Big East) beat the Pirates (16-7, 6-5) for the second time this season.
Watson finished with 12 points as Boston College handed Seton Hall only its second home loss in 13 games.
Andre Sweet had 15 points to lead Seton Hall, which squandered an eight-point second-half lead. Andre Barrett added 13, but had only three in the second half when he missed all five of his shots against a pesky Boston College zone.
There were seven lead changes in the final 9:05, with Hinnant's baseline drive around Barrett giving the Eagles a 57-56 lead.
 Sean Marshall high fives teammate Craig Smith.  |
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Seton Hall missed three straight shots and then a shot to tie the game at 58 when John Allen missed the front end of a 1-and-1 chance with Boston College ahead by two with 2:08 to play.
Watson pushed the lead to 62-56 with less than a minute to go with four more free throws.
A 3-pointer by Allen got Seton Hall within 62-59 with 32 seconds to go, but Hinnant made two free throws less than a second later and Watson added two more with 18 seconds left to make it a 66-59 lead.
A free throw by Barrett and a 3-pointer by Sweet got Seton Hall within 66-63 with :08 to go, but Watson added one more free throw to ice the game.
Smith, who was sidelined late in the Eagles' loss to Providence on Saturday because of a back problem, was unstoppable in the second half. After taking only two shots in the first half, the bulky sophomore scored 12 of 14 points to rally Boston College from a 42-34 deficit. His layup with 10:59 to play tied the game at 48.
Seton Hall, which trailed by as many as seven points early, closed the first half with a 13-4 spurt to take a 36-32 lead. A 10-footer by Sweet with 16:29 to go pushed the edge to 42-34.
