Boston College
Virginia
Men's Basketball Loses To Virginia, 79-74
February 17, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2008
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) - Mamadi Diane scored 20 points, including a key 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, and Virginia snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 79-74 win over Boston College on Sunday.
Sean Singletary scored 16 points, Laurynas Mikalauskas 13 and Mike Scott 11 for the Cavaliers (12-12, 2-9 Atlantic Coast Conference). Virginia's only other ACC win was also against BC -- 84-66 at home on Jan. 19.
Tyrese Rice led the Eagles (13-11, 4-7) with 28 points on 11-for-24 shooting. Tyrelle Blair added 11 points and Shamari Spears 10 for BC.
The Eagles lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Virginia led 71-63 after Scott's shirt jumper in the lane with 2:51 to go, but BC rallied to cut it to one on Rice's 3 from the left corner with 67 seconds left before Diane drained his 3 from the left wing with 45 seconds to play.
Rice's driving basket closed it to 74-72, but Diane hit one free before Calvin Baker nailed a pair from the line, making it 77-72 with 13.7 second left.
After missing its first nine shots in the second half, Virginia used a 13-3 run to move head 53-43 on Singletary's 3 from the top with 12:22 to go.
BC cut it to 57-54 on Rice's conventional 3-point play with 8:38 left, but the Cavaliers answered with the next six points. Diane closed the spree when he hit two free throws and followed with a fastbreak layup.
The Eagles, who trailed by eight at halftime, scored the first eight points after the break to tie the game at 40-all on Blair's two free throws with 16:48 to play.
In the first half, the Cavaliers trailed 19-9 midway, but picked up the pace offensively and scored 16 of the next 18 points en route to a 40-32 lead at intermission.
Game Notes: Rice shot 11-for-24 from the field, marking the third consecutive game in which he's made 10 or more field goals. Rice has now made 10 or more field goals four times this season and six times in his collegiate career ... Rice's 28 points brings his career total to 1,391 points. He currently ranks 16th on BC's career scoring list ... In addition to his 11 points, Blair contributed a team-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots ... Biko Paris, making his third start of the season (and second in the last four games), totaled five points and a team-high six assists. In the team's last two games, he sports an impressive 4.0 assist-turnover ratio (12 assists, three turnovers).
