BC survives another wild ride

Boston College's roller-coaster season remained predictably on course yesterday as the Eagles ended the weekend on an upsurge with an unsteady 3-1 victory over free-falling Providence in a Hockey East game at Conte Forum.

Shorthanded goals by Joe Rooney and Carl Sneep helped the Eagles (10-6-1, 7-4-1) take a 3-0 lead, and seventh-ranked BC held on despite being outshot, 30-8, over the final two periods by the desperate Friars (4-15-1, 3-9-1).

Cory Schneider stopped 35 shots and Kyle Kucharski added an even-strength goal for BC, which rebounded from an overtime loss at Northeastern Friday. It was the first collegiate goal for both sophomore Kucharski and freshman Sneep.

In their last 12 games since a win over Wisconsin Oct. 28, the Eagles have won every other game they've played, losing five times and tying once in the stretch.

BC committed 11 minor penalties (Brian Boyle served eight minutes in the box) but killed off all seven Providence power plays.

Mark Fayne scored late in the second period for the Friars, who have lost seven in a row.

Brown 5, Union 2 -- Rylee Olewinski scored twice for the visiting Bears (3-11-2, 1-9-1 ECACHL), who had 55 shots in their rout of the Dutchwomen (4-14, 0-10) .

Southern Miss. 28, Ohio 7 -- Damion Fletcher ran for two touchdowns and the Golden Eagles (9-5) scored 21 points in the second quarter en route to a victory over the Bobcats in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

The Bobcats (9-5) made their first bowl appearance since 1968, but euphoria wore off quickly as the game turned into a mismatch.

North Carolina 84, Florida St. 58 -- Tyler Hansbrough scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half as the second-ranked Tar Heels (14-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Seminoles (12-4, 0-2) for their 11th straight victory.

Kansas 70, South Carolina 54 -- Mario Chalmers scored 19 points and Darrell Arthur added 17 as the ninth-ranked Jayhawks (13-2) beat the host Gamecocks (10-3).

Pittsburgh 69, South Florida 48 -- The 10th-ranked Panthers (14-2, 2-0 Big East) overcame another ineffective performance by 7-foot star Aaron Gray, who scored in single digits (7 points) for the fourth game in a row, but got 11 points from Levance Fields as a smaller unit pulled away from the visiting Bulls (9-7, 0-2).

Syracuse 70, Marquette 58 -- Eric Devendorf's season-high 20 points lifted the visiting Orange (12-4, 1-1 Big East) over the 15th-ranked Golden Eagles (13-4, 0-2).

Tennessee 92, Miss. St. 84 -- Chris Lofton scored 21 points to help the 19th-ranked Volunteers (13-2) open their Southeastern Conference slate with a victory over the visiting Bulldogs (9-5).

URI 75, Dayton 74 -- Jimmy Baron's wild layup attempt banked in high off the glass with two seconds left to lift the host Rams (9-7, 2-0 Atlantic 10) over the Flyers.

Will Daniels led Rhode Island with 19 points . Brian Roberts finished with 19 points for Dayton (11-4, 1-1).

Keene St. 67, UMass-Boston 61 -- Tyler Kathan led a balanced offense with 15 points, and the visiting Owls (10-1, 3-0) converted 24 of 32 free throws to beat the host Beacons (4-7, 0-3) and remain unbeaten in the Little East.

Northeastern 65, Towson 52 -- The Huskies dominated inside and outside at Solomon Court as they muzzled the Tigers.

Lucia Pablos led Northeastern (2-12, 1-2 Colonial Athletic Association) with 19 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. Stefanie Hodell contributed 13 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

The Huskies outrebounded Towson, 48-34, and hit 6 of 15 3-point attempts. Towson (10-3, 1-2) hit only 2 of 17 shots from behind the arc.

Vermont 87, BU 74 -- Kelli Poles and freshman Courtnay Pilypaitis posted double doubles as the host Catamounts (11-3) won their America East opener, recovering from a 10-point first-half deficit to topple the Terriers (8-7, 0-2) at Case Gym and end a four-game losing streak against BU.

Poles poured in a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Pilypaitis added 15 points and handed out 11 assists.

Hartford 48, UNH 47 -- Lisa Etienne scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the host Hawks (9-6, 2-0 America East) edged the Wildcats (5-8, 0-2).

Maine 57, Albany 52 -- Bracey Barker came off the bench to score 20 points and pull down nine rebounds for the visiting Black Bears (8-5, 2-0 America East).

Duke 86, Va. Tech 54 -- Abby Waner and Lindsey Harding had 20 points each as the third-ranked Blue Devils (16-0, 2-0 ACC) routed the host Hokies (10-7, 1-2).

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.