Boston College
West Virginia
Men's Basketball Climbs Past Mountaineers, 80-76
February 19, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2000
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) - Freshman Troy Bell scored a career-high 31 points as Boston College broke a school-record 12-game losing streak with an 80-76 victory Saturday over West Virginia.
Bell, named Big East rookie of the week four times this season, made 8-of-13 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 3-pointers.
Xavier Singletary added 25 points and Michael Cotton had 11 as Boston College (10-16, 2-11 Big East) won for the first time since Jan. 8.
West Virginia (13-10, 5-7) lost for the fourth time in five games. Lionel Armstead paced the Mountaineers with 23 points. Chris Moss had 15 and Marcus Goree, held to just two points at the half, had 11.
Boston College, which led by 12 points early in the second half, held off a furious West Virginia rally with clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch.
Moss got a dunk off an errant shot and Goree followed with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 76-74 with 1:38 remaining. Michael Cotton's layup after a missed shot pushed Boston College's lead to 78-74 with 49 seconds left.
After Goree and Tim Lyles missed 3-point attempts, Cotton sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left for a six-point cushion. Josh Yeager's layup 10 seconds later for West Virginia ended the scoring.
