Associated Press
The ACC roundup …
BOSTON ó Boston College can certainly expect a different atmosphere in its next game.
Rakim Sanders scored 20 points and Tyrese Rice added 18 to lead BC to its ninth straight win, a 89-76 victory over Sacred Heart on Wednesday afternoon in front of a tiny, quiet crowd due to a snowstorm.
Josh Southern chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles (12-2), who open Atlantic Coast Conference play at No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday.
“If you can’t get pumped up for that game,” BC coach Al Skinner said, after chastising his team for its lackadaisical play against Sacred Heart.
“I’m excited we’ve got them first,” he said of North Carolina. “We’ve got to see if we’re ready. The rest of the league may not be first, but they’re not much less.”
The storm kept the crowd small, with no more than 700 fans showing up.
When the teams came out for pregame warmups, there were about 100 people in the stands.
Filled pop corn bags, placed on the front row of the floor seats is what Sacred Heart coach Dave Bike remembered afterward.
“There may have been more (bags) than people when we first came out,” he joked. “But we’re playing BC. We expected it.”
The squeaking of sneakers and individual comments of fans in the stands were easily heard throughout the game.
“We have to be ready to play regardless of the atmosphere, whether there’s one fan or one thousand,” Rice said.
Miami 94, North Florida 41
CORAL GABLES, Fla. ó Jack McClinton and Cyrus McGowan scored 17 points apiece as Miami beat North Florida 94-41 Wednesday.
Despite not starting for the first time this season, McClinton overtook John Salmons for 17th place on Miami’s all-time scoring list with 1,292 career points.
Miami (9-3) expanded on a 38-20 halftime lead and limited the Ospreys to four field goals in the second half. The margin of victory was Miami’s largest of the season.