Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Miami Fla
Men's Basketball Falls at Miami, 62-54
January 22, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2000
MIAMI (AP) - Mario Bland scored a career-high 24 points and had nine rebounds Saturday to lead Miami to a 62-54 win over Boston College.
After starting the season 5-5, the Hurricanes (11-7, 4-2 Big East) have won six of their last eight games. The loss extended the Eagles' losing streak to four games.
Leading by three at halftime, the Hurricanes started the second half on a 9-0 run, extending its lead to 39-27. The Eagles (9-8, 1-4) cut the deficit to 46-44 with 8:54 to play after Kenny Walls' slam dunk, but it wasn't enough.
That's when Bland, who became the 23rd player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points, took over. The senior scored four of the next six points for Miami, upping the lead to 52-47.
Boston College never got any closer to the Hurricanes. Johnny Hemsley scored 12 points and Vernon Jennings added 11 for Miami, which beat the Eagles for the fourth consecutive time.
A majority of Bland's points were scored in the paint, where the Hurricanes outsized the Eagles. Boston College also struggled shooting.
Miami held the Eagles to just 33 percent in the first half and it only got worse. Boston College shot 7-for-26 (27 percent) in the second half and 30 percent for the game.
Troy Bell, the second-leading scorer in the Big East, led the Eagles with 20 points on just 4-for-15 shooting.
Because of a broken water line at Miami Arena, the game was moved to the nearby American Airlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat.
