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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- While Atiba Prater credited his
Vanderbilt teammates for his record, Boston College coach Al
Skinner had harsh words for the school after the Commodores (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 24 AP) beat his Eagles 76-58 Sunday.
Skinner vowed he would never again to play Vanderbilt, furious
that the contract between the schools forced his team to play one
day after it played St. John's in New York.
"I doubt seriously if we're going to continue (this series,
which has one game remaining next year at Boston under its
contract). As long as I'm there, we won't be playing Vanderbilt
again," Skinner said.
Prater, who scored 10 points, set Vanderbilt's career record for
assists. The 6-1 senior broke Frank Seckar's record with his 456th
assist early in the second half. He leads the Southeastern
Conference this season with 6.3 assists per game.
"It's a big accomplishment to surpass Frank Seckar and I am
overjoyed, but the record actually belongs to this team," Prater
said. "I give all the credit to my teammates."
Uka Agbai had 19 points for the Eagles (9-13), who matched the
school record for a losing streak set from Jan. 2-31, 1990. Leading
scorer Troy Bell finished 0-for-9 from the field.
Boston College, which lost 59-58 to St. John's, didn't arrive in
Nashville until about 11 p.m. ET Saturday, and the Eagles elected not
to practice Sunday morning when they were told the only time
available would be 10-11 a.m., hours before their normal game-day
practice time.
Skinner didn't mince words after the game, complaining that
meeting the contractual schedule hamstrung his players.
"You try to do things on a handshake and an understanding.
We're all in the same business. We thought we had a date (in the
first week in January)," Skinner said.
"I think we learned a valuable lesson and we kind of go from
there," he said. "They got the result they wanted and I'm sure
they're more than happy with it. They don't care about Boston
College."
Vanderbilt spokesman Tom Weber said Boston College turned down
other dates. Weber said the team did not want to play in November
or December "under any circumstances," and had a choice of five
dates in January.
"Boston College picked this date, after they had gotten the Big
East schedule," Weber said. "They picked it knowing they were
going to have to play it the day after the St. John's game."
Vanderbilt (15-4) has won 33 straight non-conference home games,
a streak that dates to a Dec. 30, 1995 loss to Boston College.
Dan Langhi had 16 points to lead for players in double figures
for the Commodores, who under first-year coach Kevin Stallings have
surpassed last season's win total.
A 19-9 run at the start of the second half helped BC climb
within 55-46, but Vanderbilt's Rick Jones hit a key 3-pointer.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Boston College Clubhouse
Vanderbilt Clubhouse
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