Boston College Athletics
Eagles Prepare For Holy Cross
December 06, 1999 | Men's Basketball
The Centrum: Boston College last met Holy Cross in the Worcester Centrum on Dec. 2, 1994, with the Eagles taking an 81-75 victory ... BC last played in the Centrum last winter, suffering a 75-45 loss to Massachusetts on Dec. 12, 1998.
1999-2000 EAGLE BASKETBALL
Boston College (3-2) at Holy Cross (1-3)
December 7, 1999 -- 7:50 p.m.
The Centrum -- Worcester, MA
TONIGHT'S GAME: Boston College faces Holy Cross in the Worcester Centrum. Game time is 7:50 p.m.
WHO'S HOT: Freshman guard Troy Bell is averaging a team-high 20.4 points per game. He is shooting 50.0 percent from the field, including an amazing 65.2 percent from three-point range (15-for-23). Bell has scored more than 20 points in three of his first five collegiate games, including each of the last two. Most recently, he registered a career-high 29 points (7-for-13 FG, 3-for-4 treys, 12-for-14 FT) against Massachusetts (Dec. 4). His 29 points were the most by a Boston College freshman since Gerrod Abram netted 30 points against Maryland in the BIG EAST-ACC Challenge in the Richmond Coliseum on Dec. 3, 1990 ... Freshman forward Uka Agbai made his first collegiate start against Massachusetts. In 28 minutes of action, he contributed two points and six rebounds. Agbai has now grabbed six rebounds in each of the last three games. He currently leads the Eagles in rebounding, averaging 5.2 per game.
BIG EAST ROOKIE HONORS: After averaging 25.5 points per game in two games last week, Troy Bell captured BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors. Bell is the first BC player to earn conference (weekly) honors since Duane Woodward shared BIG EAST Player of the Week accolades with Notre Dame's Pat Garrity on Jan. 19, 1998.
LAST GAME: Boston College lost to Massachusetts, 74-67, in its most recent game (Dec. 4). While Bell led the way with 29 points, sophomore forward Brian Ross added 10 points. Agbai and senior Michael Cotton each grabbed six rebounds, while junior Jonathan Beerbohm had five rebounds ... BC outrebounded UMass, 35-30, but committed a season-high 23 turnovers ... BC attempted a season-low 48 field goals, while shooting a season-best 85.7 percent (18-for-21) from the foul line.
THE SERIES VS. HOLY CROSS: Tonight's game is the 102nd meeting between Boston College and Holy Cross. The Crusaders lead the series, 56-45. BC has won the last eight games, including a 61-45 victory in Conte Forum last winter (Dec. 19, 1998) ... This series is the most-played rivalry for both schools.
DEPTH: Boston College's bench has outscored its opponent's bench in four of the first five games. The BC reserves are averaging 30.4 points per game, including a 52-point effort in the season opener against New Hampshire ... Against Massachusetts, BC's reserves scored a season-low 17 points.
BALANCE: The BC scoring attack is evenly balanced between points from returning players and points from the team's newcomers. Entering tonight's game, BC's returning players have scored 208 points, while the newcomers have tallied 200.
WHO'S BACK?: Boston College returns eight lettermen, including all five starters, from the 1998-99 season ... The 1999-2000 roster features two seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. One of the seniors, guard Dwayne Pina, has two years of eligibility remaining. One of the juniors, guard Xavier Singletary, is actually a newcomer. Singletary played two seasons at Howard University, before transferring to BC and sitting out last season.
1998-1999 RECAP: The 1998-99 Eagles finished with a 6-21 record, including a 3-15 BIG EAST mark.
GOOD NUMBERS: The Eagles return 81.4 percent of their scoring production from last season, including each of their top four scorers ... BC's returning players also accounted for 85.7 percent of last season's individual rebounding total.
THE COACHES
THE HEAD COACH: Al Skinner is in his third season as the Eagles' head coach. Skinner assumed the head coaching duties at Boston College on April 17, 1997. A 1974 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, he starred on the Minutemen's basketball team. He finished his collegiate career with 1,252 points. A team captain as a senior, he has subsequently been elected to the University's Athletic Hall of Fame. Following his collegiate career, Skinner played professional basketball for six years -- with the New York Nets (ABA and NBA), Detroit Pistons (NBA), Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) and Joventut (Barcelona, Spain) ... He has a 24-39 record in two-plus seasons at the Heights. Prior to coming to BC, he enjoyed nine successful years at the University of Rhode Island. In his tenure at URI, Skinner had a 138-126 record, leading the Rams to two NCAA Tournament (1992-93 and 1996-97) and two NIT (1991-92 and 1995-96) bids ... Skinner has a career record of 162-165.
vs. Holy Cross: Al Skinner has a 2-0 career record against the Crusaders, with both victories coming during his tenure at Boston College. In his nine years as head coach at Rhode Island, Skinner's Rams never met Holy Cross.
THE ASSISTANT COACHES: Skinner is joined on the BC bench by associate head coach Tim O'Shea, assistant coaches Bill Coen and Ed Cooley, and administrative assistant Pat Duquette. Three of the four -- Coen, Cooley and former BC star guard O'Shea ('84) -- came with Skinner from Rhode Island, while Duquette came to BC from St. Michael?s College.
PLAYER NOTES
BOSTON COLLEGE'S PROBABLE STARTERS
| 1999-2000 | ||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Yr. | PPG, RPG | Last Game | |
| F | 3 | Michael Cotton | Sr. | 3.0, 3.3 | 6 pts., 3 reb. | |
| F | 13 | Kenny Harley | Jr. | 7.5, 2.3 | 14 pts., 0 reb. | |
| F | 45 | Brian Ross | So. | 8.0, 5.0 | 11 pts., 3 reb. | |
| G | 2 | Troy Bell | Fr. | 18.3, 2.3 | 22 pts., 1 ast. | |
| G | 23 | Xavier Singletary | Jr. | 14.8, 2.8 | 13 pts., 2 reb. |
#00 UKA AGBAI: The freshman forward is averaging 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game through five games ... Agbai made his first collegiate start in the Eagles' game against Massachusetts (Dec. 4). He finished with two points and six rebounds in 28 minutes ... He recorded his second double-figure scoring effort of the season -- 10 points -- in the Eagles' game against Hartford (Nov. 29) ... He registered six points, six rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes at Penn State (Nov. 27) ... Agbai came to Boston College from New York City's Archbishop Molloy High School, where he played for legendary head coach Jack Curran.
#2 TROY BELL: The freshman guard is the Eagles' top scorer through five games, averaging 20.4 points per game. He has led the team in scoring in each of the last four games ... He has already topped the 20-point mark in three games. He netted 12 points in the other two games ... He leads the Eagles in both three-point field goal percentage (65.2 percent, 15-for-23) and free-throw percentage (91.2 percent, 31-for-34).
Free Throws: When Troy Bell shot 12-for-14 from the foul line against Massachusetts (Dec. 4), it marked the first time a BC player had made 12 free throws in one game since Danya Abrams sank 12 (of 19) against Pittsburgh on March 6, 1997.
Scoring Pace: Troy Bell's 20.4 ppg average marks the first time a BC player has averaged more than 20.0 ppg through five games since Danya Abrams was scoring at a 20.2 ppg clip at the same point during the 1995-96 season.
#3 MICHAEL COTTON: The senior swingman is averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game ... He registered seven points and six rebounds -- both season highs -- in 25 minutes against Massachusetts (Dec. 4) ... He scored six points against Hartford (Nov. 29) ... He grabbed five rebounds against Vermont (Nov. 23).
#4 JONATHAN BEERBOHM: The junior forward is averaging 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game this season. He has scored in double figures in three of the team's first five games ... Most recently, he recorded four points and five rebounds against Massachusetts (Dec. 4) ... He tallied 10 points in a home win over Hartford (Nov. 29) ... Beerbohm registered 11 points and five rebounds at Penn State (Nov. 27) ... He played a productive 15 minutes in the season opener against New Hampshire, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
#5 DWAYNE PINA: The senior guard is averaging 2.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.2 minutes per game this season ... He tallied five points (all free throws), two rebounds, two assists and three steals in 19 minutes against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) ... He averaged 4.3 points and 4.3 assists in a team-high 30.0 minutes per game last winter. He played in and started all 27 games ... Pina, who began the 1999-2000 season with two seasons of eligibility remaining, joined the team as a walk-on prior to the 1997-98 season, but quickly earned a scholarship.
#10 NICOLAS DUNN: The junior guard, who joined the team as a walk-on prior to the 1997-98 season, scored his first collegiate points in the Eagles' home win over Hartford (Nov. 29). Dunn sank a three-point field goal as time expired in BC's 104-62 victory. The shot was Dunn's third career field-goal attempt, his first three-point field-goal try.
#13 KENNY HARLEY: The junior guard is averaging 6.0 points, 2.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game this season ... He scored a season-high 14 points (5-for-10 FG, 4-for-4 FT) in the Eagles' win over Hartford (Nov. 29) ... He registered eight points and four rebounds at Penn State (Nov. 27) ... In the Eagles' win over Vermont (Nov. 23), he handed out a career-high six assists in 22 minutes ... Harley did not score in 12 minutes of action against Massachusetts (Dec. 4). The game marked the first time Harley had been held scoreless since Feb. 21, 1998 (at Georgetown) and the first time he'd been held scoreless in a game in which he played more than 10 minutes since Jan. 24, 1998 (at Seton Hall)
#21 KENNY WALLS: The sophomore swingman is averaging 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Most recently, he registered nine points, three rebounds and two steals against Massachusetts (Dec. 4) ... He scored a team-high 18 points in the Eagles' season opener against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) ... He has handed out five assists in each of two games this season ... Last winter, he played in all 27 games, averaging 10.5 points per game ... Walls, the Eagles' "sixth man", came off the bench for 17 games last year, before starting the season's final 10 contests.
#23 XAVIER SINGLETARY: The junior guard is averaging 12.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game this season. He has scored in double figures in four of the first five games ... He scored 20 points (7-for-12 FG, 3-for-7 three-pointers) in the Eagles' win over Vermont (Nov. 23) ... Singletary made his Boston College (regular-season) debut against New Hampshire (Nov. 20). He finished with 16 points and three rebounds in 30 minutes ... Singletary played his first two collegiate seasons at Howard, before transferring to Boston College and sitting out the 1998-99 season ... At Howard, he scored 933 points in two seasons (50 games). As a sophomore, he ranked ninth among the nation's Division I scoring leaders with a 22.3 ppg average.
#31 OSEI MILLAR: The sophomore forward is averaging 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game ... He grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the Eagles' win over Hartford (Nov. 29) ... Millar recorded eight points, four rebounds and three steals in 15 minutes against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) ... In the win over Vermont (Nov. 23), he grabbed seven rebounds.
#32 ANDREW DUDLEY: The freshman forward/center recorded four points (2-for-3 FG) and four rebounds in six minutes against Vermont (Nov. 23) ... Dudley averaged 17.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game at Life Center (N.J.) Academy last winter.
#45 BRIAN ROSS: The sophomore forward is averaging 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game through five games. He is shooting 53.3 percent from the field (16-for-30) ... He has scored in double figures in three of the first five games, including each of the last two games ... Most recently, he netted 10 points (3-for-4 FG, 1-for-1 trey, 3-for-3 FT) in a season-high 32 minutes against Massachusetts ... Ross registered 14 points (6-for-10 FG) and eight rebounds against Vermont (Nov. 23) ... Ross shot a team-high 46.5 percent from the field last winter.
MEDIA NOTES
ON RADIO: Boston College basketball games can be heard on SportsRadio 850 WEEI (AM), Boston's 50-thousand watt all-sports radio station. Ted Sarandis is in his fifth season as the voice of the basketball Eagles. The 1999-2000 campaign marks his 23rd season describing the bouncing ball. He holds the unique distinction of having called play-by-play for all four Division I institutions in Boston -- Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern -- as well as Holy Cross. In addition, the Boston native is host of the popular ?Ted Nation? talk show, heard weeknights from 7 p.m.-midnight on SportsRadio 850 WEEI. Joining Sarandis is Bill Newell. Newell is in his third season with the basketball Eagles. He previously spent four seasons calling the action for the Boston College hockey team. Newell has also served as the play-by-play voice of Harvard football ... Many Boston College basketball games can also be heard on WZBC-FM (90.3), the student station.
ON THE WEB: All Boston College basketball games can also be heard on the Internet at www.bceagles.com.
FAX ON DEMAND: The BIG EAST Conference offers a FAX-ON-DEMAND service that sends the latest in sports information from the BIG EAST and its member institutions to your fax machine instantly -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Media members are required to contact the BIG EAST or the Boston College Sports Information Office to obtain the access (telephone) number. Boston College basketball document codes are: Breaking News 1120, Short Notes 1121, Full Notes 1122, Stats Only 1123, Most Recent Box Score 1124.
TIMEOUT POLICY: The NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Rules Committees have developed a new media timeout rule for the 1999-2000 season. Under this policy, electronic media timeouts shall be called at the first dead ball after the 16:00, 12:00, 8:00 and 4:00 minutes marks in each half. Each of these timeouts will be 105 seconds in length ... In addition, each team/coach has five 30-second timeouts (only four may be carried over to the second half) in regulation play, plus one additional 30-second timeout per overtime period (only coaches may call timeouts in overtime, and only the first timeout called by a coach in each overtime period will become an electronic media timeout). Unused timeouts from the second half or earlier overtime periods may be carried over into subsequent sessions ... The electronic media is entitled to nine timeouts. The entity gains access to the ninth timeout when the first coach-called timeout is taken. The first timeout in the game called by a coach becomes an electronic media timeout, but does not replace one of the scheduled four in that half.
UP NEXT: The Eagles host St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday, Dec. 11. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Conte Forum.
OUR RECORD WHEN...
| BC shoots 50 percent or better: | 2-0 |
| BC shoots 40-49 percent: | 1-1 |
| BC shoots 30-39 percent: | 0-1 |
| BC shoots below 30 percent: | 0-0 |
| Opponent shoots 50 percent or better: | 0-1 |
| Opponent shoots 40-49 percent: | 2-1 |
| Opponent shoots 30-39 percent: | 1-0 |
| Opponent shoots below 30 percent: | 0-0 |
| BC shoots better from field | 3-0 |
| BC shoots same/worse from field | 0-2 |
| BC leads at half: | 3-0 |
| BC is tied at half: | 0-0 |
| BC is losing at half: | 0-2 |
| BC commits fewer turnovers: | 3-0 |
| BC commits more turnovers: | 0-2 |
| Turnovers are even | 0-0 |
| BC outrebounds opponent: | 3-1 |
| BC is outrebounded: | 0-1 |
| Rebounds are even | 0-0 |
| BC shoots 70 percent or better FT | 0-2 |
| BC hits more free throws | 3-2 |
| BC scores less than 50 points | 0-0 |
| BC scores 50-59 points | 0-1 |
| BC scores 60-69 points | 0-1 |
| BC scores 70-79 points | 0-0 |
| BC scores 80 or more points | 3-0 |
| Opponent scores less than 50 points | 0-0 |
| Opponent scores 50-59 points | 0-0 |
| Opponent scores 60-69 points | 3-0 |
| Opponent scores 70-79 points | 0-1 |
| Opponent scores 80 or more points | 0-1 |
| BC bench outscores opponent bench | 3-1 |
| Game is decided by 1-4 points | 0-0 |
| Game is decided by 5-10 points | 0-1 |
| Game is decided by 11 points or more | 3-1 |
| In overtime | 0-0 |
LEADING THE EAGLES...
Led team in scoring:
Bell (4)
Walls (1)
Led team in rebounding:
Ross (2)
Walls (1)
Agbai (2)
Cotton (1)
Millar (1)
Double-Figure Scoring:
Bell (5)
Singletary (4)
Beerbohm (3)
Ross (3)
Agbai (2)
Harley (1)
Walls (1)
20+-point Games:
Bell (3)
Singletary (1)
