January 27, 1999
Box Score
BOSTON (AP) - Michael Cotton scored 20 points and Kenny Walls had 16 as
Boston College posted its first Big East win of the season, a 78-67 victory
over Notre Dame on Wednesday night.
Jonathan Beerbohm chipped in with 11 points and five blocked shots for the
Eagles (4-14, 1-9 Big East), who snapped an eight-game losing streak with their
first regular-season conference win since a 72-69 triumph over West Virginia in
the final game last year.
Notre Dame's leading scorer, Troy Murphy, who missed the last three games
with a sprained left ankle, overcame a rough start by scoring 11 of his 17
points in the second half. David Graves also had 17 points to pace the Fighting
Irish (10-11, 4-6).
The Irish, who trailed 40-32 at the break, sliced the gap to 42-39 on
Murphy's dunk just over two minutes into the second half. But Cotton triggered
a 14-6 run with a three-point play and a short jumper as Boston College pushed
its lead to 56-45 with 11 1/2 minutes to go.
Notre Dame, losers in four of its last five games, answered by scoring seven
of the next nine points to cut the score to 58-52 on Antoni Wyche's fastbreak
jam with 9:22 to play.
The Irish narrowed the deficit to six points two more times, the second
coming on Murphy's follow-up basket with just under five minutes left. The
Eagles then went on a 7-0 run to open a 13-point lead.
In the opening half, Brian Ross's 3-pointer broke a 6-6 tie and ignited a
22-12 run that pushed the Eagles to their first double-digit advantage of the
season in a league game.
