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BOX SCORE
BOSTON (AP) – The Boston College fans stormed the court to
celebrate the victory over Syracuse, shaking the building as they
jumped up and down. In the locker room, though, the Eagles (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, 17 AP) were subdued.
|  | | Syracuse's Allen Griffin doesn't let Uka Agbai stop his drive to the hoop. |
"We're not going to get overexcited," coach Al Skinner said
calmly after the biggest win of his tenure, a 65-63 victory over Syracuse (Nos. 7 and 9) on Wednesday night. "They were happy, but it's not
like we won the Big East title or anything like that.
"We were going through some tough times here, and we're trying
to make up for tough times. We kind of feel like this is the way it
should be. I know it sounds a little arrogant, but this is what we
worked for. It's been a long journey for a lot of guys."
Troy Bell had three of his eight steals in the final minute, one
of them to set up Xavier Singletary's tie-breaking layup with 39.6
seconds left and send BC (17-2, 8-1 conference) off to its best Big
East start ever. It's the best overall start for the Eagles since
the 1966-67 squad coached by Bob Cousy went 23-2 before losing in
the NCAA Tournament.
Damone Brown scored 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting and Preston
Shumpert had 20 points for Syracuse (18-4, 6-3). The Orangemen have
lost three consecutive conference games on the road while eking out
victories over Georgetown and North Carolina State.
"You keep playing these games and sooner or later one of them's
going to get away from you," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
"Sooner or later, there's going to be a play you don't make."
Boston College led by 11 at the half before Shumpert hit three
consecutive 3-pointers, then Brown added a three-point play to
complete a 12-0 run that gave Syracuse its first lead, 39-37 with
12:29 to play.
It was tied at 58 with 58 seconds left when Bell tipped the ball
away from Allen Griffin to Ryan Sidney for a steal. Singletary made
a nice baseline move at the other end for a layup that gave BC a
60-58 lead.
The Eagles' swarming defense forced another turnover when a
triple-teamed Brown lost control of his dribble. During a scramble
for the loose ball, BC managed to call timeout with 26.4 seconds
left. Kenny Harley then hit two free throws to give BC a 62-58
lead.
The victory seemed secure until Griffin hit a 3-pointer with
five seconds left to make it 64-63. Jonathan Beerbohm hit the
second of two free throws, then Bell again tipped away another pass
in the backcourt to seal it.
After the last few seconds ticked off, the full house of 8,606
poured out of the stands to celebrate the Eagles first victory over
Syracuse since 1997 and Skinner's first ever in seven tries at BC
and Rhode Island.
The victory gave Boston College as many wins this year as it did
in its last two seasons combined.
"Last year, we were last in the Big East," Bell said. "This
year, we're first."
Bell and Harley scored 12 points apiece to lead a Boston College
team that shot just .383 from the floor but forced 16 turnovers
while committing just eight.
Shumpert, the Big East's fourth-leading scorer, scored 18 of his
20 points in the second half. He shot only 1-for-7 in the first
half and had four turnovers by the break, when Boston College led
34-23.
BC scored the first six points, and then had another 6-0 run to
take a 12-4 lead. The Eagles led by 10 when a pair of steals and a
pair of baskets by Sidney gave them their biggest lead of the first
half, 34-20 with 2:49 left.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Syracuse Clubhouse
Boston College Clubhouse
BC learning they don't need stars for a sterling season
AUDIO/VIDEO
 The Eagles protect their two-point lead and hang on to beat the Orangemen.
avi: 1124 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Allen Griffin knocks down the three to bring Syracuse within one point with 5 seconds left.
avi: 1350 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Xavier Singletary goes baseline and uses the window to give B.C. the lead.
avi: 995 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Preston Shumpert drains the 3-pointer as the shot clock expires.
avi: 762 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Troy Bell steals the ball then hustles down the court to score on the putback.
avi: 764 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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