Deja Vu: Boston College Gets Going, Falls to Harvard

Give the credit to Harvard. For the second year in a row, they have knocked off Boston College right when it seems like the Eagles have something positive going for them.

It was a little less than a year ago in which the Eagles, led by point guard Tyrese Rice, sophomore Rakim Sanders, and emerging freshmen Reggie Jackson, were on an absolute roll, only to run into a brick wall.

Boston College put together a season-high ten game winning streak which included victories over UAB, Iowa, Providence, and No. 1 ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill which propelled them into the Top 25.

However, an early January match-up with Harvard ended that winning streak with an 82-70 defeat and sent the Eagles into a four game skid.

A new season, a similar scenario for the Eagles.

Tyrese Rice has moved on from Boston College and Rakim Sanders, now a junior, has been out for just about the entire season with a high ankle sprain. Be that as it may, the Eagles entered their game against Harvard playing with confidence and opportunity to pick up their fourth consecutive victory.

The end result, a 74-67 loss.

The Eagles finished with four players in double figures, including a 21 point performance by Joe Trapani and a double-double by Corey Raji. However, superb play by the red-hot Jeremy Lin countered the efforts of BC.

Coming off a career-high 30 point performance in a six point loss to Connecticut, Lin continued his hot streak tallying up 25 points in the win over BC. Keith Wright added 21 points as Harvard improved to 7-2.

To begin the season, Harvard as emerged as a team that might have enough firepower to challenge Cornell in the Ivy League. An impressive road performance at UConn was not enough to pick up a victory, but the win over Boston College for the second consecutive year proves Harvard continues to improve.

For Boston College, they had their three game win streak snapped, which included impressive road wins at Providence and Michigan, as well as an early ACC victory over Miami (FL).

Last year, the loss to Harvard proved to be a reality check for the Eagles, whose hot streak turned into a four game spiral. While awaiting the return of star player Rakim Sanders, BC looks to prevent a similar scenario following their game against Harvard.

However, it will not be easy as the Eagles prepare for a game this Sunday with a Rhode Island team that has begun the season at 7-1. Future games with Bryant, UMass, and South Carolina also present opportunities for BC to get back on track.

Boston College (6-3) will face Rhode Island (7-1) on Sunday evening at 6:45PM.