Gast-Ecke » d. The blast came as Nigerians

BOSTON -- Playing a home game with an arena nearly half-filled with chanting fans of the visiting team didnt seem to faze Boston College for most of the game. Trevor Cooney scored 21 points, Jerami Grant added 16 and No. 2 Syracuse fought off the pesky Eagles for a 69-59 victory Monday night. Boston College, which struggled through a rough non-conference schedule, led the Orange with just over 10 minutes to play. "I think they have great hope in that locker room," BC coach Steve Donahue said of his team. "Is there confidence? Its getting there. Theres not despair, not discouragement. Theres a lot of hope and theyre proud to play for each other." C.J. Fair and Tyler Ennis both had 12 points for the Orange (17-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Grant added eight rebounds for Syracuse, one of four unbeaten teams in Division I. Syracuses size just proved to be too much for BC, which was missing starting centre Dennis Clifford, who rolled his ankle in warmups. He has played just two games this season battling soreness in both knees. Lonnie Jackson scored 18 points -- all on 3-pointers -- for the Eagles (5-12, 1-3), Ryan Anderson had 14 and Olivier Hanlan finished with 13 points and six assists. Mainly behind Jackson, who was 6 of 9, BC went 9 for 21 from 3-point range, but that magic ran out when the Orange tightened up their famed 2-3 zone down the stretch. "We knew he could shoot from the last game, we just couldnt find him," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. Jackson nailed a 3-pointer late Saturday to give BC a win at Virginia Tech. Midway into the first half, the Syracuse fans broke into a chant of Lets Go Orange, and Cooney had three breakaway dunks off turnovers -- two coming off his steals -- as they took a 32-23 lead with 2 1-2 minutes left in the half. It looked like they were ready to break the game open. But the Eagles rallied to start the second half. "Even after we kind of collapsed in the first half, we bounced back and played great basketball," Donahue said. The Orange, who also started 2011-12 by winning their first 17 games, outrebounded Boston College 28-24, collecting half on the offensive glass, which helped them pull away for the win. Trailing 51-46 with just over 10 minutes to play, the Orange started take advantage of their size inside during a 16-1 run over the ensuing 3 1-2 minutes. Grant had a dunk and conventional three-point play. Cooney scored on a putback on the third offensive rebound and nailed a 3 from the right wing, capping the run. Following Hanlans two free throws, Baye Moussa Keita had a one-handed putback slam, making it 60-51 with 6:01 left. The Eagles were never closer than six points the rest of the way. Jacksons sixth 3-pointer of the game, coming off Joe Rahons long arcing pass over a double-team from corner to corner, had given BC a 50-44 lead with 11:56 left. But, after that shot, the Eagles went 11:12 without a field goal, turning the ball over on a handful of trips, before Eddie Odio had a dunk in the closing minute. The Eagles, who trailed 32-30 at halftime, opened the second half by outscoring the Orange 15-3 to take a 45-37 lead on Andersons dunk with just under 16 minutes to play. BC ran plays through the lower part of Syracuses zone that led to consecutive 3-pointers from the right corner by Jackson and Rahon before Anderson collected a feed inside for his dunk. The Eagles scored the final seven points of the first half, with Jacksons third 3-pointer triggering the run. It was the first time the schools -- both charter members of the Big East -- met as members of the ACC. Ainsley Maitland-Niles Arsenal Jersey .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position. Arsenal Jerseys .com) - Kam Chancellor bobbed his head in celebration as he crossed the goal line on his game-clinching 90-yard interception return. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Wome...-Fc-Jersey/.com) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows about life in the NFL from other stints around the league. Petr Cech Arsenal Jersey . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Jeff Reine-Adelaide Jersey . The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum from 2013 into the new season, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open. PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil -- Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in their last World Cup group match on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi and Ahmed Musa scoring two goals each before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner. Argentina won Group F while Nigeria also advanced despite the loss, becoming the first African team in the round of 16 in Brazil. Messi had his best match of the World Cup so far, scoring twice in the first half to boost his tournament total to four goals, and repeatedly cutting up Nigerias defence with dazzling runs and clever passes. "We played against a team that wanted to play," Messi said. "I think we saw a good Argentina. We need to continue on this path." The Argentina captain needed less than three minutes to finish Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeamas clean sheet in Brazil, slamming in the rebound after Angel Di Marias shot bounced off the post. Nigeria replied within a minute as Musa cut in from the left and beat Sergio Romero with a curling shot toward the far post. Nearing halftime Messi tested Enyeama with a 25-meter free kick that the goalkeeper struggled to push to a corner. Having found his aim, Messi was ice cold when Nigeria gave up another free kick just moments later from a slightly shorter distance. This time Enyeama was stunned as the ball hooked over the wall and slipped in just inside the post. "Messi is one of heck of a player, hes blessed. You cant take it away from him," Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said. "Messi is from Jupiter, he is different." The second half started at the same furious pace as the first, with two goals within the first five minutes. First Musa took advantage of confusion in the Argentine defence to score his second. Then Rojo made it 3-2 as he got his right knee on a corner kick three minutes later. Both teams continued to chase more goals but the intensity dropped off someewhat as Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella substituted Messi after the hour-mark.dddddddddddd The Barcelona wizard enjoyed the space he was given by Nigeria, which surged forward rather than locking down in defence like Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran did against Argentina. He has scored in each of the teams three matches. Finding more space to attack, Argentina created more chances than in its previous games, but its defence caved in on both of Musas goals. Another concern for Argentina: Striker Sergio Aguero was injured in the first half, and replaced by Ezequiel Lavezzi. "I think we had a lot of chances, and could have scored a few more goals," Sabella said. Tens of thousands of Argentine fans had travelled to Porto Alegre for the match, taunting Brazilian spectators by singing "Maradona is greater than Pele" at the 44,000-capacity Beira-Rio Stadium. The Brazilians booed and held up five fingers to remind the Argentines of how many World Cups theyve won. Argentina has two. Meanwhile, tragedy struck in Nigeria before the match, as an explosion rocked a shopping mall in the capital, Abuja, and police said at least 21 people were killed. The blast came as Nigerians were preparing to watch the World Cup match. Many shops at the mall have TV screens but it was unclear if the explosion was timed to coincide with the match, which started an hour later. ------ Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Joseph Yobo, Juwon Oshaniwa; Ahmed Musa, Ogenyi Onazi, John Obi Mikel, Michael Babatunde (Okechukwu Uchebo, 66); Peter Odemwingie (Uche Nwofor, 80), Emmanuel Emenike. Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Federico Fernandez, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo; Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria; Lionel Messi (Ricardo Alvarez, 63), Gonzalo Higuain (Lucas Biglia, 91), Sergio Aguero (Ezequiel Lavezzi, 38). ' ' '