Men's Basketball Stuns No. 17 Boston College, 82-70

The Harvard men's basketball team pulled off a stunning upset of Boston College tonight in Chestnut Hill, Mass., beating the No. 17 Eagles by an 82-70 margin just three days after BC upset then-No. 1 and undefeated North Carolina on the Tar Heels' home floor in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Junior guard Jeremy Lin led the Crimson (8-6) with 27 points, eight assists, and six steals in the victory, the first over Boston College (13-3, 1-0 ACC) since Nov. 18, 1998, and the first in school history over a ranked opponent.

The Crimson took a 33-27 lead into halftime, and the lead was as great as 16—at 66-50 with 5:07 to play—in a second half where Harvard never trailed.

Freshman guard Oliver McNally scored 17 off the bench, while senior guard Andrew Pusar was the only other Harvard player in double figures with 13.

The win marks the second major non-conference victory by Harvard in as many years. Last season, the Crimson beat Michigan by a 62-51 score at Lavietes Pavilion.

Boston College's victory over North Carolina on Sunday made national news as the first loss of the season for the Tar Heels, who had beaten all their previous opponents by an average of 20 points per game. The Eagles moved into the top 25 for the first time all year after the upset, and will likely exit the polls next week after the loss to Harvard.

The Crimson, meanwhile, now has a defining victory on its resume as the team heads into league play. Harvard opens its Ivy League slate at Dartmouth on Saturday night.  The Crimson has now matched its win total from last season, when Harvard finished 8-22.

Harvard last played Boston College three years ago, when the host Eagles cruised to an 89-55 blowout. Tonight's game was the first for Lin, who was a senior in high school the last time the two teams played.

—Check www.thecrimson.com throughout the evening for more updates.