Boston College
Texas Southern
Men's Basketball Downs Texas Southern, 80-53
December 18, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2005
Final Stats (HTML) | Box Score (PDF)
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) - Jared Dudley had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Sean Marshall scored a season-high 19 points on Sunday and No. 13 Boston College ended a two-game losing streak by beating Texas Southern 80-53.
Craig Smith, BC's first preseason All-America selection, had 11 points and seven rebounds, but got poked in the eye and banged in the nose going for a rebound with 5 minutes left in the game. He remained on the floor for a few minutes while the trainer attended to him and wiped away a trickle of blood.
Eagles guard Louis Hinnant also had to leave the game, going out in the first half with a cut above his left eye. He got stitches and returned to the game. BC (7-2) didn't need them, building up a 31-point lead before clearing the bench with 2:58 left.
Jacques Jones had 18 points and nine rebounds, but Curtis Smith and Sean Walker went a combined 5-for-22 from the field and Texas Southern (2-8) lost for the eighth time in nine games. The Tigers lost their previous five road games by an average of 35 points, including a 113-49 loss to No. 2 Connecticut.
Boston College won six consecutive games to start the season and moved as high as No. 6 in The Associated Press poll. Then the Eagles lost to Michigan State and Maryland to fall out of the Top 10.
With four more games before its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule starts in earnest - Harvard is next - BC has a chance to get a few more wins. The Eagles are also expecting a boost if Sean Williams, who was suspended from the team and school after being arrested for marijuana possession, returns next semester.
Marshall reached his season high on an alley-oop dunk with about 5 minutes left to give BC a 69-43 lead. Akida McLain hit one of two free throws and Tyrese Rice made a 3-pointer to make it 73-43.
The Eagles scored 16 of the first 20 points of the second half - Dudley scored the first eight for BC - then Marshall had consecutive 3-pointers and Smith capped the run with a short jumper in the lane to make it 54-32.
