BC edges Providence; Harvard holds off HC

Ryan Anderson had 24 points and seven rebounds to lead Boston College to a 71-68 victory over Providence on Saturday afternoon at Conte Forum.

Olivier Hanlan contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds for BC (6-5). 

For Providence (8-3), Bryce Cotton score 33 points, hitting 7-of-14 treys, while Kadeem Batts had 14 points and seven rebounds.

The game was tied at 36 at the break. With 6:02 remaining, BC used a 7-2 run -- fueled by 3-pointers from Patrick Heckmann and Lonnie Jackson -- to turn a one-point deficit into a 60-56 lead. The Eagles never trailed again, although Providence kept things close until the end. After Cotton hit two free throws with 57 seconds left, the margin was two. On BC's ensuing possession, Anderson took a pass from Joe Rahon and laid the ball in as the shot clock expired to make it a two-possession game.

In Cambridge, Wesley Saunders scored 14 points to pace a balanced scoring attack for Harvard in a 72-65 victory over Holy Cross.

Siyani Chambers, who this week was named a candidate for the Bob Cousy Award as the top point guard in college basketball, scored 14 points for the Crimson (6-4), who also received 13 points and six rebounds from Christian Webster.

Dave Dudzinski led Holy Cross (7-5) with 22 points and Justin Burrell netted 13.

Harvard led by nine at the half, 36-27, but the lead was only two points with 1:02 to play, 67-65. Saunders hit 1-of-2 free throws with 35 seconds left and Laurent Rivard grabbed a defensive rebound and hit two free throws with 13 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.

At Boston University, D.J. Irving scored 23 points and the Terriers used a 13-0 run late in the second half to pull away from Cornell for a 70-57 victory.

Malik Thomas scored all 17 of his points in the second half for BU (5-6), hitting 5-of-5 treys.