CHESTNUT HILL — Security guards wearing neon orange coats lined the court. A referee, spotting the oncoming student herd, sprinted to the sideline and hopped into press row. Even ex-Boston College star and current Phoenix Sun Jared Dudley got into the action, disappearing into the gold throng.
As foreign as it appeared at Conte Forum, last night's genuine — and worthy — rushing-the-floor moment was fun to watch. Coming off losses to Wake Forest (No. 7 AP/No. 8 ESPN) and Clemson (No. 12 AP/No. 11 ESPN), BC beat Duke (No. 6 AP/No. 5 ESPN) 80-74 in front of a sellout crowd of 8,606.
"I would've loved to get all three of them, I would've loved to get two of them," said senior guard Tyrese Rice, who scored a team-high 21 points and became the seventh BC player to score 2,000 points for his career. "But I'll take one. And I'll definitely take a Duke one. That just makes me feel better."
The Eagles, who handed then top-ranked North Carolina its first loss of the season Jan. 4, defeated the Blue Devils for the first time in 24 years. The crowd, relatively subdued in the first half, pumped up the volume after the break.
"It's nice to see everyone respond," said BC coach Al Skinner, whose club trailed by as much as 13 points in the first. "That's when it makes it a little more difficult for the visiting team. The energy is starting to be generated. (That's when you) know it's in your favor."
The Eagles played an exceptional offensive second half, shooting 59.3 percent, outscoring Duke 48-37 and ending the game on a 9-2 run. The evening's unlikely hero — an upset like this always has at least one — was Reggie Jackson. The freshman guard scored 15 points, none bigger than his driving shot that bounced off the rim and in to break a 74-74 tie with 48 seconds remaining. It gave BC the lead for good.
"It came down to stops," Duke swingman Gerald Henderson said. "They scored on every possession they had in the last five minutes."
The BC players weren't exactly shocked at themselves afterwards. But the euphoria was real.
Joe Trapani, a sophomore transfer from the University of Vermont, had high expectations for the season. But he couldn't have predicted (or expected) to notch this kind of improbable victory.
"I would say, 'In a perfect world we're beating Duke and Carolina in my first year in the league," said Trapani, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Madison, Conn., whose father Charlie played hoops at UVM in the late 1970s, sank a pair of free throws to give the Eagles the decisive six-point advantage.
Still, the night belonged to Rice. His long trey at 1:33 made it 74-72 BC.
"I knew he was going to make that," Trapani said, cracking a smile. "I was open in the corner."
Rice finished the night 7 for 13 from the floor. Skinner acknowledged that his shot selection wasn't perfect, but added, "You gotta let him go sometimes."
When Rice is on top of his game, the Eagles are dangerous. But are they an NCAA Tournament team? They're 19-8 overall; 7-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They've beaten UNC (23-2, 9-2 ACC) and Duke (20-5, 7-4 ACC).
BC can hang with the big boys.
"That's just the proof in the pudding. I think we felt that way all along," Skinner said. "Sometimes our inconsistency didn't allow us to do what we needed to do."
About that ugly home loss to Harvard Jan. 7... Will the NCAA selection committee look past it?
"The Harvard days are over," Rice assured reporters.
While beating Duke was a momentous event on campus, Rice seems to view it with at least a bit of skepticism.
"It's a great accomplishment," he said, "but like coach always tells us, Duke and Carolina's only two wins in conference."
With only conference foes Miami, Florida State, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech remaining on the schedule, the only thing the Eagles can do in order to at least try to bury the Harvard defeat is win out. Rice is fine with that.
"We still," he said, "have some business to take care of."
BC 80, Duke 74
Attendance: 8,606
Streak busting: BC snapped an eight-game skid against Duke. The last time the Eagles beat Duke was March 17, 1985 in the NCAA Tourney. The Blue Devils have now lost three straight ACC road games.
Stat of the day: The Blue Devils' 18-9 advantage in offensive rebounding was misleading. They actually led 9-1 in that category in the first half. Duke still led 9-8 in the offensive glass after the break, but BC's aggressiveness paid off with second-chance opportunities down the stretch.
Singler's big day: Duke's Kyle Singler scored a game-high 25 points. His jumper tied the score at 74 with 1:08 left.
Granite State pride: Manchester Central alum Tyler Roche was productive in 24 minutes of action, scoring eight points. His trey with 6:28 to go gave BC a 65-61 lead.
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