BC snaps 6-game losing streak with 91-60 win over Maine
BOSTON (AP) Considering how the past two weeks have been, Boston College coach Jim Christian found something he called ''contagious'' that he was happy about.
Eli Carter scored 16 points, had nine assists and eight rebounds to help Boston College snap a six-game losing streak with a 91-60 victory over Maine on Sunday.
''Tonight, what we haven't had (in the last two weeks), when somebody supplied energy, I think it spread down the line to another guy,'' Christian said. ''That's what was disappointing with the previous couple of weeks. It was contagious. One guy would step up and raise his energy level.''
It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Eagles, but they were feeling better both on and off the court after the win.
All of BC's players were healthy after a gastrointestinal illness at a Chipotle restaurant near the campus affected more than 120 students, including some players, last week.
''It feels great just being out there with these guys after these last couple of weeks,'' said BC forward A.J. Turner, who said he was sick, but not as bad as some of his teammates,
Jerome Robinson also scored 16 points, Turner and Darryl Hicks each had 11, and Dennis Clifford 10 for the Eagles (4-6), who led by 15 at halftime and broke it wide open early in the second.
Maine coach Bob Walsh said BC's press caused his team more trouble than he expected.
''I thought we were ready to handle it,'' he said. ''We work against it every day. We have a similar press and we didn't handle it. I put in a lineup that I thought could handle it and they lost their composure.''
The Eagles shot 53.7 percent (36 of 67) and went 12-of-27 on 3-point attempts.
Garet Beal paced Maine (2-7) with nine points. The Black Bears dropped their fourth straight.
Boston College opened the second half with an 11-0 run over the initial four minutes. Seven-footer Clifford had a pair of baskets and Robinson nailed a 3 directly in front of the Eagles' bench.
Clifford's dunk pushed BC's lead to 73-43 with just under eight minutes to play.
The Eagles had opened a double-digit lead a little over four minutes into the game, but the Black Bears sliced it to 27-24 on Lavar Harewood's two free throws.
BC then went on a 14-2 run late in the half, pulling to their 44-29 advantage at intermission. Carter had 10 points in the spree, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Eagles shot 53.1 percent in the first half (17 of 32).
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TIP-INS
Maine: The Black Bears entered allowing 86.8 points per game, giving up 104 to Marquette and 100 to Connecticut. . They fell to 5-30 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference teams. The Black Bears are one of three America East teams that play at BC this season.
Boston College: The Eagles improved to 16-4 all-time against Maine, also a Hockey East rival. . They hit six of their first seven shots from the floor to open the game. . There were signs how to protect from the norovirus on bathroom doors.
NICE PASSING
Christian was very pleased about his team collecting a season-high 24 assists. He said it's a gauge of how they're playing.
''Our goal is twenty a night,'' he said. ''If we're playing right we should have 20 assists.''
WE THOUGHT THE TIME WAS RIGHT
Walsh said he thought it was the perfect time to face BC.
''To be honest, we looked at: six in a row and we looked at them as being vulnerable,'' he said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
''It went from a one possession game to a 15-point game in the blink of an eye,'' Walsh said.
UP NEXT
Maine is at Fordham on Saturday.
Boston College hosts Delaware on Saturday night.
