January 20, 2002

Boston College, ranked 22nd in one poll and 21st in another, made 12 of 14 free throws in the final three minutes of the game to stave off a major upset bid by Virginia Tech and won 77-68 in front of 4,269 fans at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

With the loss, Tech fell to 6-12 overall and 0-6 in the BIG EAST. The loss marked the Hokies seventh straight loss and 10th in their past 11th games. It also marked their 16th consecutive road loss.

"I thought the effort was there," Tech head coach Ricky Stokes said. "The last three games, we've had great effort. The most disheartening thing is to not come away with a win. But we continue to improve and do the other things, then good things will happen."

BC is now 14-4 and 3-3 in the BIG EAST. The Eagles snapped a three-game homecourt losing streak.

Tech and BC swapped leads until the Eagles went on a 13-6 run midway through the second half to take the lead for good. Tech closed to within three points, 56-53, on Bryant Matthews 3-pointer with 6:14 left in the game, but the Hokies came no closer. Matthews led Tech with 19 points, hitting 7-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Tech held BC to just 40.7 percent shooting from the floor and the Hokies kept Eagles' point guard Troy Bell in check. Bell, last year's BIG EAST player of the year, finished with 17 points, but made just 5-of-15 from the floor and he went 0-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc.

But Tech struggled shooting the ball, making just 38.6 percent for the game. Carlos Dixon and Terry Taylor, two of the Hokies' top scorers, combined for just nine points and went just 2-for-16 from the floor. Brian Chase added 10 points for the Hokies.

Bell and Kenny Walls each finished with 17 to lead the Eagles. BC's Ryan Sidney scored 16 and grabbed a game-high 12 boards.

Tech gets a little breather before diving back into BIG EAST play next weekend. The Hokies continue their three-game road trip next Saturday when they travel to Syracuse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.