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Saturday, Jan. 20 2:00pm ET
Eagles use their balance to rout Rutgers RECAP | BOX SCORE
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BOSTON (AP) -- Boston College coach Al Skinner was worried about
his team after an emotional game at No. 2 Duke.
He found out he didn't have to worry at all.
Troy Bell, Kenny Harley and Ryan Sidney each scored 16 points as
the 25th-ranked Eagles pulled away midway through the second half,
posting a 77-51 victory over Rutgers on Saturday.
"I told them that I was concerned. I told them (Friday) that I
thought practice was a little more looser than normal," Skinner
said. "But they showed me and came out and played like I wanted."
The Eagles (13-2, 4-1 Big East) are off to their best start
since going 22-9 in 1996-97, the last time they made the NCAA
tournament. Boston College was picked fifth of seven teams in the
league's East division in a preseason coaches' poll.
Tuesday, BC played Duke tough in the opening half, trailing
by just two at the break, before the Blue Devils broke it open
early in the second half en route to a 97-75 victory.
"He just wanted to make sure we were prepared for the game,"
Boston College forward Jonathan Beerbohm said of Skinner's speech
prior to Rutgers. "We were definitely a little more energized."
Rutgers (8-9, 0-6), a single-digit loser in all of its league
games before Saturday, was led by Todd Billet's 22 points.
he Scarlet Knights, in the midst of their worst league start,
were left searching for answers.
"We're going to have to do some quick soul searching," Rutgers
coach Kevin Bannon said. "Nobody's feeling sorry for us. We can't
feel sorry for ourselves. We have to get to work."
Holding a 33-32 lead early in the second half, Boston College,
which struggled from the field for most of the game, broke loose
for a 14-3 run over a 4:09 stretch.
Xavier Singletary, who added 12 points, made a pair of
3-pointers and Bell had two baskets during the key burst.
The Scarlet Knights, the Big East's second-worst free throwing
shooting team at .595 percent entering the game, hurt themselves at
the line during the Eagles' decisive run. They hit only one of five
attempts.
Rutgers never closed to double digits the rest of the way as
BC gradually built its lead.
"In the second half, we came out and got the job done," Sidney
said.
The Eagles shot 43.3 percent for the game (29-for-67), but was
below 40 percent for most of the game until some late baskets.
BC started slowly and hit just one of its first 10 shots. The
Eagles improved and went on to lead 29-25 at halftime.
Rutgers' last road victory over a ranked opponent came over three years ago, 72-63 at Temple Dec. 20, 1997.
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ALSO SEE Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
AUDIO/VIDEO   Ryan Sidney drives the lane for an open layup.avi: 663 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Eugene Debney puts back a rebound for a Rutgers score.avi: 587 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Todd Billet finds Jeff Greer in the lane for a hoop and the foul.avi: 918 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Troy Bell cuts in the lane for an easy layup.avi: 1041 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Jonathan Beerbohm goes right at the Rutgers defense for a hoop and a foul.avi: 902 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | ||