CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) -- Troy Bell couldn't find the basket from 3-point
range, but everything else was working for him on Wednesday night.
Although he missed all seven 3-point attempts, Bell still led
No. 20 Boston College with 16 points, seven assists and five steals
as the Eagles beat Virginia Tech 83-61.
|  | | Virginia Tech's Mibindo Dongo, left, and BC's Xavier Singletary are up in arms over a loose ball. |
"Bell does a lot of things for them," Virginia Tech coach
Ricky Stokes said. "He plays with a lot of poise."
A sophomore point guard, Bell didn't commit a turnover for the
second consecutive game, and he has not coughed up the ball in the
last 96:19 over three games.
"He's gained a lot more confidence than anyone else on the
team," Xavier Singletary said. "Coming in as a freshman, he was kind of
thrown out there. This year, he makes the extra pass and spends
more energy on defense. He doesn't have to score all the time."
Said Bell: "That's my job. I have to get the other guys the
ball."
Kenny Harley and Singletary also had 16 points apiece for
the Eagles.
Brian Chase and Mibindo Dongo each had 14 points for the Hokies,
who scored the first six points of the game and led 13-6 five
minutes in before BC scored the next 21 points to put it away by
halftime.
"It went south in a hurry," Stokes said. "One of the things
we talked about was getting off to a fast start. We did that, we
just didn't handle the pressure very well."
Boston College (15-2, 6-1 Big East) has won four consecutive
conference games since its only league loss, to St. John's on Jan.
10 to match its best start in 20 years. Virginia Tech (8-11, 2-6)
was coming off its biggest win of the season, 65-59 over St. John's
on Saturday.
"I think that opened up the eyes of our players," Eagles coach
Al Skinner said. "That's the most important thing: The players
realized that Virginia Tech had some potential if we didn't come
somewhat ready."
The Hokies did not score for 9:47 and committed 17 turnovers in
the first half, 30 in all. Bell had seven points during the run and
Harley had five, making the Eagles' first 3-pointer of the game
after they missed their first eight.
Boston College took its first lead when Uka Agbai stole the ball
and fed it to Harley for a dunk that made it 14-13 with 9:26 to
play in the first.
The Eagles had 15 steals and only nine turnovers.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Virginia Tech Clubhouse
Boston College Clubhouse
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