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BOSTON COLLEGE WINS PARADISE JAM CROWN

Nov. 25, 2003 — The Boston College Eagles defeated the Wichita State University Shockers 84-81 to win the 2003 Paradise Jam men’s tournament title Monday night at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.
The Appalachian State University Mountaineers topped the La Salle University Explorers 59-48, and the Monmouth University Hawks beat the Hampton University Pirates 64-52
Fridge Holman missed a potential game-tying three-point attempt as time ran out in the championship contest. There were five ties and two lead changes in the first half. The game moved at a relatively fast pace from beginning to end.
The Eagles build an 11-point lead midway through the half. But the Shockers were not to be outdone. They got hot during the final 10 minutes of the half, outscoring the Eagles 20-11 to close to within two points.
The Shockers pulled even at 37 with less than two minutes left in the half. But the Eagles were able to hold them off and cling to a slim two-point lead at the buzzer, 41-39.
BC could not shake Wichita State. The Shockers answered every Eagle offensive surge with one of their own for the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Eagles would build a lead of up to eight points and the Shockers would come right back to tie the game. But the Shockers were unable to take the lead in the second half.
Craig Smith scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the BC team. Jermaine Watson and Jared Dudley had 17 and 14 points respectively for the Eagles. Watson did most of his scoring from the free-throw line, where he was 11-of-12. He made the Eagles final eight points — all from the foul line.
Wichita State had four players in double figures: Rob Kampman had 21 points to lead the team. Jamar Howard added 19 points, and Randy Burns and Bret Wise each had 10.
Appalachian State captured fifth place in the tournament with its victory over the La Salle Explorers.
The game was close in the first half. There were three lead changes and the game was tied once in the first half. But the Mountaineers dominated the first nine minutes of the second half with a 17-4 run to take control of the game.
Chris McFarland dumped in 11 points in the second half to lead the Mountaineers' offensive surge. Six of his points came during the early second-half run. Derek Thomas had four points, two of which came on a mammoth dunk.
The Explorers could not get the deficit into single digits in the second half.
McFarland had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mountaineers. Noah Brown had 20 points off the bench.
Jermaine Thomas led the Explorers with 17 points. Steven Smith had 11 points and David Bell had eight points and eight rebounds.
The Monmouth Hawks captured third place in the tournament with a victory in the second game of the evening.
The Hampton Pirates shot 8-of-14 from behind the three-point arc in the first half. Granger shot 6-of-7 three-pointers and had 21 points in the half. Devin Green had nine points in the half, shooting 3-of-6 from the field. Green also grabbed nine rebounds in the half.
The Pirates out-rebounded the Hawks 19-11 in the half. Tom Kaplan and Marques Alston each had five points from off the bench to lead the Hawks half-time scoring.
The teams reversed rolls in the second half as the Hawks come out shooting very impressively. Monmouth went on a 21-0 run with 16:29 left in the game. The Pirates made no field goals for 12 minutes during the Hawks offense charge.
The Pirates' offense was completely shut down in the second half. The Hawks got six of their nine steals in the second half and also held the Pirates to 5-of-25 from the field in the half.
The Hawks had played a very physical and costly game against Boston College. Starting center Brian Boxler sat out Monday's game due to a concussion he suffered in Sunday night’s game and Dwayne Byfield did not play as he nursed an ankle injury.
Chris Kenny scored 14 points to lead the Hawks. Blake Hamilton had 13 points and nine rebounds for the team. Alston added 10 points.
Jeff Granger had a game-high 24 points for the Pirates. Devin Green recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Craig Smith of BC was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Hampton’s Devin Green, Monmouth’s Blake Hamilton, BC’s Uka Agbai and Wichita State’s Rob Kampman and Jamar Howard were all chosen for the all-tournament team.

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