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VILLANOVA, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Freshman Ryan Sidney sparked a key second-half burst that propelled 25th-ranked Boston College to a 90-80 victory over Villanova and into first place in the Big East Conference's East Division. Sidney scored seven points during a 17-2 run as the Eagles (14-2, 5-1 Big East East Division) turned a five-point deficit into a 74-64 lead with 5:20 remaining and cruised down the stretch to their third straight league win. The 6-2 native of Ann Arbor, Michigan combined with Troy Bell and Kenny Harley to lift Boston College into first place as it continues its remarkable resurgence after three straight losing seasons. "I think there are teams a lot more talented than us, but they got a little extra drive that's pushing them," said Eagles coach Al Skinner. "The goal is rather simple ... just to be competitive in this league and that's all they're really trying to do." Sidney scored a season-high 16 points, Harley a career-high 25 and Bell 28 for the Eagles, who trailed 62-57 with 11:51 to play before taking command with 10 straight points. "We played at Duke. All this other stuff, all these other away games are secondary," said Bell. "We know what to expect." After two free throws by Bell pushed Boston College's advantage to 74-64 with 5:20 left, the Wildcats did not get closer than eight points. Michael Bradley scored 23 points, Gary Buchanan 18 and Jermaine Medley 17 for Villanova (12-6, 4-3), which has dropped four of its last six. "I get single coverage," Bradley said. "I get zone. I get doubled, three-quarters ... any kind of defense you can think of, I've seen this year." Medley's 3-pointer, one of his five in the second half, gave the Wildcats a five-point lead with just under 12 minutes to go. But Villanova made just one basket over the next seven minutes as BC took control. A runner in the lane by Sidney and Bell's free throw cut the deficit to two points and Harley's steal and dunk tied it midway through the second half. Moments later, Sidney put the Eagles on top for good by spinning in the lane for a layup. After a Villanova timeout, Sidney drained a 3-pointer that gave BC a 67-62 advantage. Bradley, who also had 11 rebounds, threw down a dunk, but Xavier Singletary scored in the lane and Bell drained a 3-pointer before adding two free throws for a 10-point bulge. "The only thing we did more of (in the second half) was foul more," joked Skinner. "Everybody in our frontcourt was in foul trouble. We just worked hard but I don't think we did anything special." Boston College shot 51 percent (32-of-63), including 11-of-27 from 3-point range, and committed just seven turnovers while forcing 15. The Wildcats shot 46 percent (25-of-54) and held a 38-29 advantage on the boards. "Every decent team is going to make a run and we just had to withstand that run and come back with our own and that's what we did," Bell said. The Wildcats took their first lead of the afternoon at 42-40 when Medley opened the second half with a 3-pointer. After Boston College fought back to take a 53-47 lead, Villanova put together a 15-4 spurt to go ahead. "The bottom line in this game was the 12 steals that they had that led directly to baskets," Villanova coach Steve Lappas said. "That really was, to me, the biggest problem in the second half of the game." .
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