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Men's Basketball Rallies Past West Virginia, 75-70
Jan 19, 2003
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) - Craig Smith scored 13 of his season-high 30 points in the closing 7:49 and Boston College recovered from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat West Virginia 75-70 on Sunday.
Ryan Sidney had 18 points and Troy Bell scored 12, despite hitting just 2-of-10 shots from the floor for the Eagles (8-6, 1-2 Big East).
Drew Schifino led the Mountaineers (9-6, 1-3) with 24 points. Reserve Chaz Briggs added 13 points, and Kevin Pittsnogle had 12.
West Virginia took a 50-48 edge on Tyrone Sally's layup with 13:18 to go, but Boston College followed with a 10-0 run over the ensuing 2:58. Sidney had six points and Bell closed the spree with a 3-pointer from the top.
After Schifino had a basket for West Virginia, Smith nailed his first 3-pointer of the season and scored on a driving basket, pushing the Eagles ahead 63-52 with 7:20 left.
The Mountaineers closed it to 65-59 on Briggs' put-back with 4 1/2 minutes remaining and stayed within striking distance, until Schifino's basket with 58.7 seconds left cut it to 69-65.
Smith then hit two free throws and Bell had two in the closing 35.3 seconds to seal it.
The Mountaineers led 36-30 at the half.
Josh Yeager's 3-pointer capped a 12-2 West Virginia run that gave the Mountaineers a 36-20 lead late in the first half. BC then responded by turning up its defensive pressure and scoring the last 10 points of the half, closing to within six at intermission.
Game Notes: Craig Smith's 30-point effort marked the highest single-game total by a BC freshman since Troy Bell netted 31 points at West Virginia on Feb. 19, 2000.
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