Virginia 72, No. 11 Boston College 58

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Posted 9:28PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - J.R. Reynolds scored 28 points and Virginia took control early Tuesday night, hitting 12 3-pointers and stunning No. 11 Boston College 72-58 to end the Eagles' five-game winning streak. The Cavaliers (14-10, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 38-28 at halftime and never let the lead shrink below 10 in the second half. Freshmen Mamadi Diane and Laurynas Mikalauskas each made key baskets to keep momentum going Virginia's way. The Eagles (21-6, 8-5) had only lost to No. 1 Duke in their last 11 games, but missed their first eight shots and allowed Virginia to use a 26-6 first-half run to move comfortably ahead. Boston College never found its shooting touch, finishing at 35 percent. Sean Singletary added 16 points for Virginia and Diane had nine, including two 3-pointers in the second half when Boston College was trying to rally. The first gave Virginia a 53-38 lead, and the second made it 58-43 with 7:36 remaining. Mikalauskas also had a pair of baby hooks in the half to prevent the Eagles from getting close. Virginia finished 12-for-21 on 3-pointers and shot 52 percent overall. Craig Smith led Boston College with 22 points and nine rebounds, and joined Danya Adams as the only Eagles players with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds. Tyrese Rice, a freshman who starred at L.C. Bird High School in Richmond, added 10 points for the Eagles, but did all his scoring in the first half. The loss prevented Boston College coach Al Skinner from breaking a tie with Jim O'Brien for the career victories lead at the school. Each coached 168 victories. The Cavaliers used a 26-6 run over nine minutes in the first half to take a 31-13 lead. Reynolds scored all 16 of his first-half points in the burst, hitting three 3-pointers and adding a three-point play. Diane and Singletary also hit 3s in the run. The Eagles responded immediately with nine consecutive points, and closed to within 38-28 at the half on Rice's long 3-pointer that just beat the buzzer. They never got any closer. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)