NEW YORK - On a day when Boston College never made an outside shot and had 10 shots blocked inside, the Eagles still found a way to beat defending national champion Syracuse.
BC trailed by 11 and never led until the final minute when four straight free throws by Jared Dudley and two by Craig Smith sealed a 57-54 victory over the Orangemen on Thursday in the Big East quarterfinals.
The Eagles (23-8) won their seventh straight. Syracuse (21-7), ranked 19th and seeded No. 4 after beating Pitt, West Virginia and UConn in the final week of the season, led from the start, extending it to 11 on the long-range shooting of Gerry McNamara, who hit four 3-pointers.
BC missed all nine of its 3-point attempts but kept working inside against a 2-3 zone.
Smith, Uka Agbai and Dudley flourished under the basket. BC outrebounded Syracuse 41-27.
"We just tried to get it inside and see what's going on from there," said Smith, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Trailing from the start, BC relied on Smith's inside game and tied it at 51 on a three-point play by Jermaine Watson with 2:51 left.
McNamara then made a 3-pointer, but the Orangemen did not score again.
Freshman Terrence Roberts missed a stuff that would have made the lead five and BC took advantage after that from the free-throw line. Dudley hit a pair with 1:33 to play and then two more with 37.5 second left for a one-point lead.
After Hakim Warrick missed a shot, Smith missed both free throws with 20 seconds left. Warrick misfired again. Smith made two free throws with 6.1 seconds left, and McNamara missed a 3-pointer.
NO. 9 UCONN 66, NOTRE DAME 58: With Emeka Okafor on the bench in street clothes, the Huskies (25-6) got big efforts from Ben Gordon (29 points) and freshmen Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva, who were strong rebounding. Okafor had back spasms and will be re-evaluated today as a game-time decision. Okafor said, "No doubt I'll be ready for the NCAAs." The Fighting Irish are 17-12.
NO. 6 PITT 74, VA. TECH 61: The top-seeded Panthers (28-3) opened defense of their title with their 10th win in their last 12 conference tournament games, a run that includes three straight championship game appearances. The league's leading scorer, Bryant Matthews at 22.4, played only 30 minutes, fouling out with 7:14 left for the Hokies (15-14). He scored 14. "Even with the loss we have shown that we have redefined a competitive spirit here," first-year Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said.
VILLANOVA 69, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 66: Randy Foye led an 11-0 run down the stretch and the Wildcats (16-15) became eligible for at least an NIT bid. Foye, who scored the winner against Seton Hall on Wednesday, scored five straight after after Donnie McGrath's 3-pointer had given the Friars (20-8) a 58-54 lead with 3:54 left.
Pac-10 tournament
NO. 2 STANFORD 68, WASH. ST. 47: Josh Childress scored 17 and the Cardinal (27-1) led all the way in Los Angeles. Justin Davis played his first game since bruising a bone and tearing a left knee ligament in January. He had seven points and four rebounds in 14 minutes, saying he was 75 percent. Stanford had lost its opener both times since the Pac-10 revived the tournament in 2002. The Cougars (13-16) finished with six more victories under first-year coach Dick Bennett than last season.
OREGON 87, CAL 82: Luke Jackson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and freshman Aaron Brooks scored five straight down the stretch for the defending champion Ducks (15-11). Amit Tamir scored a season-high 24 and Leon Powe added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (13-15), who finished the season by losing three straight and six of eight.
WASHINGTON 91, UCLA 83: Will Conroy scored 18 of his 20 in the second half when the Huskies (18-10) rallied. The Bruins (11-17) were the only team to beat Washington twice this season. They led by eight three times in the second half, but completed consecutive losing seasons for the first time in 62 years.
ARIZONA ST.: Sophomore Ike Diogu, a two-time All-Pac-10 selection who led the conference in scoring at 22.8, said he will return to school.
Big 12 tournament
OKLAHOMA 63, NEBRASKA 59: Drew Lavender scored 16 of his 19 in the second half and the Sooners (19-9) rallied from a 13-point deficit in Dallas. The Cornhuskers (16-12) lost in the first round for the fifth straight season.
MISSOURI 74, TEXAS A&M 68: Jason Conley hit consecutive 3-pointers during a 9-0 run late in the second half for the Tigers (16-12). The Aggies (7-21) lost their 19th straight conference game.
IOWA ST. 78, KANSAS ST. 64: Freshman Curtis Stinson scored 24 on 11-of-13 shooting and Jake Sullivan scored 21 for the Cyclones (17-11). The Wildcats are 14-14.
Big Ten tournament
INDIANA 83, OHIO ST. 69: Bracey Wright scored 20 and A.J. Moye added 19 as the Hoosiers (14-14) kept their postseason hopes alive in Indianapolis. Indiana, winning for the third time in its past 11, got a lift from two former walk-ons. Ryan Tapak had a career-high 11 assists, and Mark Johnson scored a career-high 13. The Buckeyes (14-16), led by Terrence Dials with 22 points, will miss the postseason for the first time in six years.
MINNESOTA 63, PURDUE 52: Kris Humphries overcame poor shooting with 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Gophers (12-17). Minnesota shot only 28 percent from the field but was 22-for-25 from the free-throw line and the Boilermakers (17-13) were 5-for-10. Brett Buscher blocked four Humphries shots and forced the Big Ten freshman of the year into 4-for-21 shooting, but Michael Bauer had two big 3-pointers in the second half.
NORTHWESTERN 57, PENN ST. 52: The Wildcats (14-14) took advantage of 26 turnovers. The Nittany Lions (9-19) lost their 11th straight.
Mountain West tournament
COLORADO ST. 60, NO. 25 AIR FORCE 48: The Rams (13-15) took control with an 18-3 run to start the second half and hit 10 straight free throws in the final two minutes in Denver. The Falcons (22-6) have lost 12 straight postseason games.
BYU 79, WYOMING 74: Luiz Lemes scored 16 of his 18 in the second half and the Cougars (21-7) held off the Cowboys (11-17).
UTAH 75, SAN DIEGO ST. 69: Nick Jacobson hit seven 3-pointers and had 24 points as the Utes (22-8) held off the Aztecs (14-16).
MEAC tournament
FLORIDA A&M 72, HAMPTON 71: A 3-pointer by Terrence Woods with one second left gave the Rattlers the quarterfinal victory in Richmond, Va. Woods led Florida A&M with 21 points.
Women
NO. 2 TEXAS 63, NO. 14 BAYLOR 59: Stacy Stephens dominated in the first half with 14 points and four rebounds, and after spending most of the second half on the bench with foul trouble she hit a short fadeaway with 35 seconds left. The Longhorns (28-3) reached the Big 12 conference title game for the second straight year.
NO. 19 OKLAHOMA 78, NO. 8 K-STATE 66: Maria Villarroel scored 23 for the Sooners (22-8). The Wildcats' Nicole Ohlde set the Big 12 career scoring record, surpassing the 2,187 Phylesha Whaley scored for Oklahoma from 1997-2000. Ohlde has 2,193.
UAB: Coach Jeannie Milling was fired after a third straight losing season.
OLYMPIC TEAM: The USA Basketball women's senior national team committee selected Duke coach Gail Goestenkors and Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer as assistants.
