Men's Basketball Falls At #17 Boston College, 82-65
November 18, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Boston College (1-0) made five three-pointers in the first 7:35 of the game, opening up a 20-10 lead, but the Terriers closed within five points on a three-pointer from junior Paul Seymour (Liverpool, NY) to make the score 20-15 with 10:37 left in the half.
The Eagles took a 21-point lead into the intermission - their largest lead of the half. Sophomore guard Ryan Sidney finished the half with 10 points. Freshman forward Rashad Bell was the Terriers high scorer in the half with six points.
BC's junior guard Troy Bell, playing in his first game after arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 31, contributed nine points on 3-of-8 shooting in the first half. The Terriers committed 14 turnovers in the opening half and 24 for the game.
BC kept the offensive pressure on in the opening minutes of the second half, as senior forward Brian Ross - held scoreless in the first half - scored seven of the Eagles' first nine points, helping BC take a 27-point lead at 56-29 with 17:06 left in regulation.
The Eagles led by as many as 33 points on a pair of free throws by Walls with 13:04 left to make the score 66-33, but the Terriers continued to play hard, cutting the lead to as few as 14 points, at 76-62, with 1:40 left in the game.
"If you turn the ball over 24 times you have little chance to win the game," Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff said. "In the stretch when the game got away from us at the end of the first half, BC's quickness really bothered us.
"The combination of the turnovers and Walls making some pretty difficult shots in the first half got us in the hole," Wolff said.
B. U. (1-2) was led in the scoring column by junior forward Billy Collins (Concord, NH), who tallied 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Joining Collins in double figures were freshman guard Chaz Carr (Manchester, CT) with 11 points, and sophomore forward Jason Grochowalski (Shrewsbury, MA) with 10.
The Terriers outrebounded the bigger Eagles by a 40-35 margin, including a 17-11 advantage on the offensive boards. Both teams shot the ball well from behind the three-point line. B. U. made 8-of-17 three-pointers, while BC connected on 9-of-18 attempts.
B. U's leading scorer, junior guard Matt Turner (West Haven, CT) was held to two points on 1-for-5 shooting. Sidney had a game-high eight assists.
The Terriers have a week to prepare for its next game. B. U. plays its home-opener on Sunday, Nov. 25 against St. Peter's at Case Gym. Game time is 1 p.m.
