Boston College Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Marquette
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
November 14, 1998
BOSTON COLLEGE'S PROBABLE STARTERS
1997-98 PPG, RPG
F 3 Michael Cotton DNP
F 4 Jonathan Beerbohm 3.6, 2.3
F 13 Kenny Harley 4.5, 3.5
G 5 Dwayne Pina 1.4, 1.9
G 12 Clinton Sims First Season
BC AT HOME: Boston College had a 9-6 home record last season, including a perfect 6-0 record in non-conference contests ... The Eagles enter tonight's regular-season opener with a 25-game Conte Forum winning streak in non-league games. BC's last home loss in a non-conference game was a 75-58 loss to Providence in the quarterfinal round of the 1993 NIT (March 24, 1993). The Eagles' last home loss to a non-BIG EAST team was a 79-72 loss to Temple on Dec. 8, 1992.
BC in Conte Forum Non-League Games
1997-98 6-0 1996-97 4-0 1995-96 6-0 1994-95 3-0 1993-94 6-0 1992-93 6-2
REGULAR-SEASON OPENERS: Boston College has won its last 24 season-opening games. Last year, the Eagles defeated Central Connecticut, 87-54, on Nov. 16. BC's last season-opening defeat was an 86-81 loss against Canisius on Dec. 4, 1973.
EARLY START: Only once in school history has Boston College opened its regular season as early as Nov. 14. The Eagles tipped off the 1990-91 campaign with an 82-78 home victory over Memphis State on Nov. 14, 1990 in the Pre-Season NIT.
JESUITS: Tonight's game against Marquette is the first of five meetings the Eagles will have this season with Jesuit institutions. Later this month, BC will play Fordham (Nov. 24 in Albany) and Fairfield (Nov. 28 at home). On Dec. 19, BC will host Holy Cross. The Eagles' final meeting against a Jesuit school will come at Georgetown on Feb. 17.
THE SERIES VS. MARQUETTE: Boston College has a 1-1 all-time record against the Golden Eagles. Marquette won the first meeting, 80-64, on Feb. 1, 1958. Boston College won last year's game, 64-54, in the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
LAST YEAR'S BC-MARQUETTE MEETING: Senior Antonio Granger registered 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead BC to a 64-54 road win over the Golden Eagles. Joining Granger in double digits were senior Mickey Curley (12 points), senior Duane Woodward (12) and junior Kostas Maglos (11) ... BC shot 50.0 percent from the field, while limiting the home team to 34.6 percent shooting ... BC outrebounded Marquette, 35-28 ... Three members of this year's BC team figured in the contest. Guard Dwayne Pina finished with two points and five rebounds in 21 minutes; forward Jonathan Beerbohm had two points and one rebounds in 11 minutes; and guard Kenny Harley notched four points and four rebounds in 32 minutes.
THE EXHIBITIONS: Junior Michael Cotton scored 17 points to lead five Eagles in double figures as Boston College defeated the BABC Alumni, 112-80, on Nov. 2. Joining Cotton in double digits were freshmen Kenny Walls (14 points) and Willie Deane (13 points), and sophomores Julian Bah (11 points) and Kenny Harley (11 points) ... In the second exhibition contest, Harley scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Eagles to an 82-75 victory over the One World All-Stars. Cotton and sophomore Jonathan Beerbohm each netted 14 points, while freshman Clinton Sims added 10 points.
OUR ROSTER: The 1998-99 Boston College roster features six returning lettermen and seven newcomers (one eligible transfer, six freshmen and one transfer who will sit out the coming season). Junior Dwayne Pina and sophomores Jonathan Beerbohm and Kenny Harley are the three returning lettermen who saw considerable action last winter. Pina earned a roster spot as a walk-on prior to the 1997-98 season. His fine early-season play earned him a scholarship, effective for the second semester of the 1997-98 academic year. He started the last eight games of the 1997-98 season. Beerbohm and Harley both saw action in all 31 games last winter. Beerbohm, who made five starts, averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Harley, the top returning scorer after averaging 4.5 ppg in 1997-98, made 21 starts. Junior Jim Boland and sophomores Julian Bah and Nicolas Dunn are also returning lettermen. Each of the three earned roster spots as walk-ons prior to the 1997-98 season.
MICHAEL COTTON: A junior guard from Detroit, Mich., Michael Cotton will tonight make his first (non-exhibition) collegiate appearance since the 1997 Big 12 Tournament. Cotton played the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons at the University of Oklahoma, before transferring to Boston College and sitting out the 1997-98 season. In his two seasons as a Sooner, Cotton played in 38 games ... Cotton averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the Eagles' two exhibition games.
THE FRESHMEN: Head coach Al Skinner and his staff landed six highly-regarded recruits who will make their collegiate debuts this evening -- guard Willie Deane, forward Osei Millar, forward Timos Papadimitriou, forward Brian Ross, guard Clinton Sims and guard Kenny Walls ... Sims earned a starting spot in the Eagles' backcourt in each of the two exhibition games. He averaged 9.5 points in 22.0 minutes per game ... Millar saw five minutes of action in the first exhibition game, but missed the second game with a sprained left thumb ... Deane shot 6-of-9 from the field in the team's exhibition win over the BABC Alumni, finishing with 13 points. He added four points in the second exhibition contest ... The athletic Walls, a product of San Francisco's Galileo High School, averaged 11.5 points in the two pre-season contests, including a 14-point effort against the BABC Alumni ... Ross, a graduate of North Quincy (Mass.) High School who led the state in scoring last winter with a 36.7 ppg average, scored seven points in the exhibition opener.
WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR: Junior swingman Xavier Singletary will sit out the 1998-99 season after transferring to the Heights from Howard University. Last winter, Singletary finished as the nation's ninth-leading scorer with a 22.3 ppg average (in 23 games). He earned 1996-97 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors, and 1997-98 All-MEAC first team honors.
THE CAPTAINS: The 1998-99 Eagles will feature selected game captains. For tonight's game against the visiting Golden Eagles, junior Dwayne Pina and sophomore Kenny Harley will be the designated captains.
THE HEAD COACH: Al Skinner assumed the head coaching duties at Boston College on April 17, 1997. Skinner, a 1974 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, had a 15-16 record in his first season at the Heights. Prior to that, 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 ... Including his tenure at Boston College, Skinner has a career record of 153-142.
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. Michaels College.
ON RADIO: Boston College basketball games can be heard on SportsRadio 850 WEEI (AM). A passionate supporter of amateur athletics and college basketball in particular, Ted Sarandis returns for his fourth season as the voice of the basketball Eagles. The 1998-99 campaign marks his 22nd 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. He has also broadcast hockey and football at both the college and professional levels. Joining Sarandis is Bill Newell. Newell is in his second 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.
UP NEXT: Boston College will host Harvard on Wednesday, November 18. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Conte Forum.
