UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) – Troy Bell found his shooting touch just in time to keep Boston College's breakthrough season alive.
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Boston College, a No. 3 seed, was really challenged by Southern Utah. That's right, Southern Utah, out of the Mid-Continent, proving again that when you get from the third seed down there is so much balance in college basketball.
It was hitting the offensive boards that allowed Al Skinner's club to
survive and advance. That is the theme, baby! It's not about the margin of
victory. As the Late Jimmy V used to say, you survive and march on.
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Bell, held to two points on 0-of-5 shooting in the first half,
finished with 18 points as the Eagles beat Southern Utah 68-65 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"I really had no choice. I had a poor first half," said Bell,
who finished 5-of-16 from the field. "I had to stay patient, stay
out of foul trouble and I had to put my game back together for us
to win."
Bell also had nine rebounds for the third-seeded Eagles, who
have won eight in a row.
Xavier Singletary added 15 points for Boston College (27-4), which rebounded from a 11-19 mark last season to win the Big East title. The Eagles will play Southern California, which routed Oklahoma State, in the second round Saturday night.
Jeff Monaco scored 26 points and Frederick House 21 for
14th-seeded Southern Utah (25-6), which made its first NCAA
Tournament appearance.
The Thunderbirds had a chance to tie it, but Justin Sant's
3-point attempt hit the front of the rim to end the game and
Southern Utah's seven-game winning streak.
|  | | Boston College's Uka Agbai goes up for two of his eight points against Southern Utah. |
"We were trying to get Jeff a shot, and they did a good job of covering him," Southern Utah coach Bill Evans said. "I thought Justin got a decent look, though."
The Eagles outrebounded the Thunderbirds 52-35, including 30-17 offensive.
"The one thing they did was get the offensive rebounds," Monaco said. "If we could have done a better job at doing that, we'd be going to the next round."
Singletary hit a 3-pointer with 57.2 seconds left to give Boston
College a 66-63 lead. House followed with a layup with 44.8 seconds
remaining to make it a one-point game.
Singletary missed another 3-point attempt, but Bell got the
rebound and was fouled with 13.6 seconds left.
"I was supposed to get back on defense, but I saw the chance to
go for it and I did," Bell said.
Bell made both free throws to give Boston College a 68-65 lead, and Sant followed with his missed 3 to seal the victory for the Eagles.
It was the closest game the Eagles, who shot just 32 percent,
played since beating Providence 59-58 on Feb. 24. Boston College,
which was 17-40 in the previous two seasons, improved to 18-0 when
holding opponents under 70 points.
"Last year, we lose a game like this," Bell said. "Not mature
enough, not patient enough. Now we are, and we stepped up."
House shot two free throws to get Southern Utah within two at 60-58, but Ryan Sidney answered with two of his own to make it 62-58.
House missed the second of two free throws at 2:45, but the
Thunderbirds recovered and Dan Beus was fouled. Beus missed the
first foul shot, but made the second to get Southern Utah within
two again at 62-60 with 2:45.
Bell made the second of two free throws at 2:23, but Monaco tied
it at 63-all with a 3-pointer with 1:32 left.
"I kept telling Bell, 'You're an All-American, but we're not going away. No matter how many 3s you hit, we're not going away,"' House said.
"I knew Bell would play well in the second half and take care of business," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "Our defense in the second half was the reason we won."
The Thunderbirds, led by Monaco's 17 first-half points, took a
39-33 lead into halftime.
Southern Utah, the Mid-Continent Conference tournament champion,
played in its first national postseason tournament since losing in
the NAIA tournament in 1977. Southern Utah became a full NCAA
Division I member in 1988.
"I loved our effort," Evans said. "We showed a lot of courage
and toughness. There were a lot of times we could have rolled over,
and we didn't."
The game marked the first meeting between the teams.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Southern Utah Clubhouse
Boston College Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Southern Utah coach Bill Evans is frustrated with his team's lack of rebounding.
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Boston College's Xavier Singletary is thankful for the late Southern Utah miss.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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