Boston College 88, Providence 86

Boston College 88, Providence 86

Published Dec. 9, 2010 2:25 a.m. ET

Reggie Jackson scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists to lead Boston College to its a fourth straight win, 88-86 over Providence on Wednesday night.

Josh Southern had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles (7-2). Joe Trapani had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Biko Paris had 12 points.

Marshon Brooks had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Providence (9-2), off to its best start since opening 1988-89 by winning its first 13 games. The loss snapped the Friars' five-game winning streak.

Vincent Council had 13 points and nine assists for the Friars.

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It was the 105th meeting between the schools. Providence owns a 57-48 edge.

BC, which never trailed and was tied just once early in the game, held a 42-31 halftime lead. The Eagles saw a 15-point second half lead whittled to two with 90 seconds to play and again in the final minute.

A late 3 by Providence's Duke Mondy made it 87-86, but Council's desperation 3 from just beyond midcourt banked off the backboard and rolled off the rim as the horn sounded.

Eagles' starting forward Courtney Dunn was suspended for three games for violating team rules. He's expected to return on Dec. 22 against Bucknell. BC was also without forward Cory Raji for the second straight game after he suffered a concussion on Dec. 1.

The Eagles maintained a double digit lead until the Friars made a charge in the closing 7 1/2 minutes of the game.

Jackson had scored eight straight points in the opening four minutes of the second half, hitting consecutive 3s in a one-minute span. Danny Rubin then nailed a 3 from the right corner as the Eagles opened their biggest lead of the game, 55-40, with 15:40 to play.

Providence then relied on second-chance points and strong outside shooting to make its run.

Trailing 72-60, Brooks sandwiched a pair of 3s around Kadeem Batts' free throw, cutting it to 72-67.

After the teams traded baskets, Southern hit a pair of free throws, pushing BC ahead 76-69, before Batts and Brooks had baskets, closing it to 76-73 with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Jackson nailed a 3 from the left wing and Trapani hit two free throws, moving BC ahead by nine with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Providence cut it to 83-81 before Jackson hit one free throw with 1:30 to play. The Frairs then made it 85-83 with 30 seconds left, but Trapani had a dunk with 13 seconds left.

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