Boston College Athletics
Boston College
St. John's*
Men's Basketball Stomps St. John's, 81-63
February 26, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb 26, 2003
By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK - Troy Bell has an impressive streak going.
The senior guard for Boston College scored 33 points Wednesday night n an 81-63 victory over St. John's.
It was his 10th straight game with at least 26 points and third in the last four over 30.
"My only goal is to get in the NCAA tournament," he said. "I just want to go out with a bang my senior year."
The win was the fourth straight and seventh in eight games for the Eagles (15-9, 8-5), who moved within a half-game of Villanova for second place in the Big East's East Division. The top two teams in each division get a bye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
"He shoots the ball so well and his in-between game is what makes him so dangerous," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "This is the best he's played since he's been at Boston College."
Anthony Glover tied his season high with 22 points for St. John's (12-12, 5-9), which lost its fourth in a row and sixth of seven.
"This is one of those times where prayer is about the only things that's left," Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis said. "My guys will not do what a lot of teams have done across the country and that is give up. That would be tragic."
Bell, who leads the Big East in scoring at 25.3 points per game, was 8-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range, and 14-for-16 from the free-throw line.
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"It was really tough to find a rhythm tonight but we made an effort to use our defense to take control."
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"It was really tough to find a rhythm tonight but we made an effort to use our defense to take control," Bell said.
Ryan Sidney added 16 points for Boston College, while Craig Smith had 12 and Nate Doornekamp 10.
Marcus Hatten, who leads the Red Storm in scoring at 21.8 points per game, finished with 15, none after sustaining a left thigh bruise with 9:45 to play. He was 7-for-16 from the field with six assists and six turnovers.
Hatten, who missed about a minute before returning, said it was the first time he ever left a game because of an injury.
"It hurt a lot," he said, adding he didn't consider it serious.
St. John's finished with a 40-31 rebound advantage, including 26-14 on the offensive end.
Boston College won the first meeting this season 84-82 on Feb. 5.
The Eagles' next game is at Miami on Saturday and then they finish with home games against Villanova and Connecticut. Skinner was asked if there was a chance his team could overlook Miami, which has been struggling.
"Not at all," he said. "We've stumbled a bit this season, losing games we shouldn't have. We might get lose at Miami but it won't be because we're not ready to play."
