Boston College Athletics
Bell, Prince Pull BC And Kentucky Through First Round
March 16, 2001 | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2001
By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - When things got a tight for Kentucky and Boston College in the NCAA East's first round, both went to reliable solutions for their problems - Tayshaun Prince for the Wildcats and Troy Bell for the Eagles.
That should be no surprise. Prince, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, and Bell, who shared that distinction in the Big East with Notre Dame's Troy Murphy, have been the meal tickets for their teams all season long.
Prince broke a tie with consecutive 3-pointers and scored 12 of Kentucky's last 14 points, finishing with 27 in a 72-68 victory over gritty Holy Cross. Bell, limited to two free throws in the first half, finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 32 minutes as BC nipped Southern Utah 68-65.
In Saturday's second round, Kentucky plays Iowa, a 69-56 winner over Creighton, and BC faces Southern California, which beat Oklahoma State 69-54.
Prince carries a streak of 28 straight games in which he has scored in double figures and has gone over 25 points five times during that stretch. Bell has led BC in scoring in 41 of 58 collegiate games and has scored in double figures 53 times.
They are their team's go-to guys.
"It's not only that I want the ball down the stretch," Prince said. "The team wants me to make plays and believes I can do it. They execute the right calls and get me the ball where I like best. All of this goes into it and it's up to me to execute."
Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard had cautioned his team about Prince, but there was nothing the Crusaders could do about the wiry 6-foot-9 junior. "Tayshaun's a great player," Juan Pegues said. "In tight situations, great players step up."
Prince has been doing that all season.
Besides the Holy Cross heroics, he beat Louisville with a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left, put Kentucky ahead for good with two minutes left against South Carolina and scored the decisive basket in a one-point win over Florida.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith appreciates Prince's ability to function in pressure situations.
"I characterize him as a very intelligent basketball player," Smith said. "He understands the game as well as anybody I've coached. He'll recognize things. He's multi-faceted. He can do so many things. He's the total package. That's why he's the SEC Player of the Year. The players look up to him and enjoy being around him."
Like Prince, Bell was big at the end of the game, going 3-for-4 from the foul line with an assist and a rebound in the last 2 1/2 minutes. His two free throws with 13 seconds left provided the final points in the victory.
Coach Al Skinner thought his star was flustered by three early fouls.
"He has control of the ball all the time," Skinner said. "He had a better feel for what he wanted to do in the second half. When the game was on the line, he was a little more aggressive."
That, however, is not Bell's style.
"I think Troy is a tremendous player with the ability to do a lot of things," teammate Xavier Singletary said. "Sometimes, I get on him about being a little lazy. He's got to come out and play every night."
Skinner thought Bell's selfless style sometimes interferes with his play.
"Troy is a laid back, humble guy, very respectful of his teammates," he said. "Last night was the first time the guys gave him a high five. They were proud of how he came back in the second half."
