• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Harvard nails down historic win vs. Boston College

Jan 8, 2009 - 3:38 AM CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Boston College's letdown Wednesday is arguably as big as its recent win over North Carolina.

Jeremy Lin scored 27 points as Harvard shocked its nearby neighbor Boston College with an 82-70 upset, collecting its first win against a ranked opponent.

Oliver McNally had 19 points and Andrew Pusar added 13 for the Crimson (8-6), who snapped a two-game losing streak against the 24th-ranked Eagles, winning for just the 10th time in the 42-game series.

For Boston College (13-3), the loss is a devastating one as it was coming off a win at then--No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday that vaulted it into the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll for the first time this season.

Held to less than 80 points for the first time in six games, the Eagles had a 10-game winning streak snapped.

Harvard took control after putting together a 10-0 run just past the midway point of the first half. Lin capped the burst with a layup, giving his team a 21-17 lead with 7:11 remaining.

The Crimson held a 33-27 advantage at the half, holding Eagles' leading scorer Tyrese Rice without a point on 0-of-4 shooting. The senior guard had 25 points in the win over North Carolina.

Harvard surprisingly pulled away from Boston College after the break, going ahead 66-50 on Doug Miller's layup with 5:07 remaining.

The Eagles hardly threatened the Ivy League school thereafter, as a 6-0 run brought Boston College to only within 66-56 with 3:07 left.

Lin, who finished 11-of-16 from the field, hit a jumper but Rice also knocked down a jumper and made two free throws to cut the deficit to 68-60 with 1:20 to play.

Yet, Lin made two foul shots four seconds later, and the Crimson ended up converting 14-of-16 from the stripe down the stretch.

McNally ended up 10-of-11 on free throws for Harvard, which went 20-of-23 from the stripe compared to 10-of-16 for Boston College.

Lin, who came in averaging 17.8 points, also handed out eight assists and grabbed a career-high six steals.

Rice finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting for the Eagles, who went just 2-of-13 on 3-pointers.

Sophomore forward Rakim Sanders also had a big game against the Tar Heels, but was nearly non--existent against Harvard. He ended up with seven points and four rebounds in 19 minutes, well below the 22 points, six rebounds and seven steals against UNC.

Corey Raji scored 16 points and Joe Trapani 12 for Boston College, which hosts Miami on Saturday.