Boston College Athletics
Eagles Travel To Villanova
January 14, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2000
Boston College (9-5, 1-1)
at Villanova (8-4, 0-1)
January 15, 2000 - Noon
The Pavilion (6,500) - Villanova, PA
WHO'S HOT
Freshman guard Troy Bell has topped the 20-point plateau in each of the Eagles last two games. Most recently, he tallied 24 points in the Eagles' 86-77 loss at Notre Dame (Jan. 12). Prior to that, he registered 28 points, including 11 of the Eagles' final 14 points (in the final 3:03), in BC's 67-62 come-from-behind win over Providence (Jan. 8). Bell shot 8-for-17 from the field against the Friars, including 4-for-8 from three-point range ... Senior swingman Michael Cotton enjoyed his best game of the 1999-2000 season against Notre Dame. Cotton established season highs in points (14), rebounds (seven), assists (four) and steals (five). He also played a season-high 35 minutes.
BIG EAST NOTE
Bell's 28-point effort against Providence in his BIG EAST debut marked the third-highest point total by a player in his first conference contest. Two players -- Notre Dame's Troy Murphy and Georgetown's Allen Iverson -- registered 30 points in their first BIG EAST contests. Two other players -- Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin and Villanova's Tim Thomas -- scored 29 in their conference debuts.
LAST GAME
Freshman Troy Bell scored 24 points to lead Boston College in an 86-77 loss to Notre Dame at the Joyce Center (Jan. 12). Senior Michael Cotton and junior Xavier Singletary each added 14 points for the Eagles. Cotton and freshman Uka Agbai tied for team-high rebounding honors with seven ... BC outrebounded the Irish, 37-35 ... BC committed just eight turnovers, while forcing 19 Notre Dame miscues ... Both teams made 26 field goals. BC, however, shot just 36.6 percent from the floor. Notre Dame shot 60.5 percent, the highest percentage by a BC opponent since March 5, 1998 (St. John's, 63.3 percent) ... ND shot 70.6 percent in the first 20 minutes and led 40-37 at halftime ... BC outscored the home team, 7-3, to begin the second half to take its final lead of the contest, 44-43 ... ND then used a 6-0 run to take the lead for good. BC closed to within one point -- 59-58 -- with 9:16 to play, but could never even the score ... ND outscored BC, 27-17, from the foul line.
TURNOVERS
BC committed just eight turnovers against Notre Dame (Jan. 12), its lowest single-game total since Dec. 23, 1997 (vs. Northwestern) ... BC's lowest turnover total during the 1998-99 season was nine -- at Villanova on Jan. 13, 1999.
POINTS FROM THE FIELD
In each of Boston College's last three games, the team that has scored more points from the field has lost the game. In a 71-63 loss to Iona, BC had a 54-43 advantage from the floor. In a 67-62 win over Providence, BC was outscored from the field, 54-45 ... Most recently, Boston College lost to Notre Dame, 86-77, despite outscoring the Irish from the field, 60-59.
HALFTIME SCORE
Boston College has an 8-0 record this season when leading at halftime. BC is 1-5 when trailing at the break.
MAGIC NUMBER
Boston College is 8-0 when limiting its opponents to fewer than 70 points. BC is 1-5 when allowing more than 70 points.
ON THE ROAD
Boston College has a 1-2 road record this season. The Eagles lost at Penn State (Nov. 27), won at Holy Cross (Dec. 7), and lost at Notre Dame (Jan. 12) ... BC will look to snap a 14-game BIG EAST road losing streak against Villanova. The Eagles' last conference road win was a 64-61 victory over Seton Hall in Continental Airlines Arena on Jan. 24, 1998.
SERIES VS. VILLANOVA
Villanova holds a 48-16 advantage in the series with Boston College, including a 27-9 edge in the BIG EAST regular-season series ... Villanova has won three of the teams' five BIG EAST Tournament encounters. BC defeated the Wildcats, 70-58, in the championship game of the 1997 AT&T BIG EAST Championship.
BOSTON COLLEGE'S PROBABLE STARTERS
| Pos. | No. | Name | Yr. | PPG, RPG | Last Game | |
| F | 00 | Uka Agbai | Fr. | 5.5, 4.6 | 6 pts., 7 reb. | |
| F | 3 | Michael Cotton | Sr. | 4.4, 3.9 | 14 pts., 7 reb. | |
| F | 45 | Brian Ross | So. | 4.9, 4.6 | 2 pts., 2 reb. | |
| G | 2 | Troy Bell | Fr. | 19.6, 2.8 | 24 pts., 5 reb. | |
| G | 23 | Xavier Singletary | Jr. | 13.3, 3.9 | 14 pts., 4 reb. |
Last Year's Meeting
Freshman Willie Deane registered 14 points and classmate Brian Ross added 11 points to lead the Eagles in a 76-67 loss at Villanova (Jan. 13, 1999). BC jumped out to an early lead, before Villanova rallied to take a 37-31 lead at the intermission ... The host Wildcats extended the lead to as many as 14 points (61-47), before BC went on a 14-3 run to close to within three points (64-61) with 3:20 remaining. The Eagles could get no closer in the final minutes ... BC committed a season-low nine turnovers, while forcing Villanova to turn the ball over 21 times. BC recorded 15 steals, but was outrebounded, 52-25.
In The Pavilion
BC has a 1-12 all-time record in The Pavilion. BC's lone win was a 65-58 victory on Jan. 23, 1993.
REBOUNDING
Boston College enters today's game with a +2.4 rebounding margin. Last winter, the Eagles placed last in the league's rankings with a -7.1 rebounding margin.
FREE THROWS
Boston College has shot better than 80.0 percent from the foul line in five games this season ... BC shot a season-best 90.0 percent from the line (9-for-10) in its 71-63 loss to Iona (Dec. 30) ... In its 89-71 win over Michigan (Dec. 19), Boston College shot 22-for-25 from the foul line, 88.0 percent.
FIELD GOALS
In Boston College's 53.4 percent shooting effort against Massachusetts (Dec. 23), the Eagles made 62.1 percent of their first-half field-goal attempts, their best 20-minute effort of the season ... BC shot 61.3 percent from the field in the first half against Hartford (and 60.0 percent in the second half of the same game).
80 POINTS
After scoring more than 80 points just once in 27 games last winter, Boston College has scored more than 80 points in five of 14 games this season.
STEALS
Boston College has recorded 136 steals in its first 14 games, an average of 9.7 steals per game. The Eagles have registered 10 or more steals in each of seven games ... BC recorded a season-best 19 steals in the season opener against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) ... In two BIG EAST contests, BC has recorded 21 steals -- 12 against Providence (Jan. 8) and nine at Notre Dame (Jan. 12).
DEPTH
Boston College's bench has outscored its opponent's bench in 12 of 14 games this season. BC has an 8-4 record in these games ... BC's reserves are averaging 26.3 points per game, while its opponents' reserves are averaging 16.4 ppg ... BC's bench scored a season-high 52 points in the season opener against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) ... BC's reserves scored a season-low eight points at Holy Cross (Dec. 7) ... BC's bench was outscored in its first meeting with Massachusetts (Dec. 4) and against Providence (Jan. 8).
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 498 points, while the newcomers have tallied 544 points.
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 30-42 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 168-168.
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
#00 UKA AGBAI
The freshman forward is averaging 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game ... After coming off the bench for the first four games of the season, Agbai has started each of the last 10 games ... He has led (or tied for the team lead) the team in rebounding in five games, including each of the team's two BIG EAST contests ... Most recently, he tallied six points and seven rebounds at Notre Dame (Jan. 12). In the Eagles' win over Providence (Jan. 8), the freshman played a career-high 37 minutes. In that time, he contributed three points, tied for team-high rebounding honors with six, and became the first BC player to block five shots in one game since Jonathan Beerbohm recorded five against Notre Dame on Jan. 27, 1999 ... Agbai grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in a win over Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 22) ... In the Eagles' win over Michigan (Dec. 19), Agbai registered 10 points and five rebounds. His 10-point effort was his third double-figure game of the season (all with 10 points). His other double-digit efforts came against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) and Hartford (Nov. 29) ... 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, averaging 19.6 points per game. He has led the team in scoring in 10 games ... He has already topped the 20-point mark in seven games, including four games with more than 25 points ... He is the Eagles' top three-point threat, hitting 47.0 percent from long range (31-for-66).
20 Points
Should Bell total 20 or more points in today's game against Villanova, it'd mark the second time this season that he'd have registered 20 or more points in three consecutive games. He enters today's game after scoring 28 points against Providence (Jan. 8) and 24 points at Notre Dame (Jan. 12) ... When Bell registered 20 or more points in three consecutive games (Nov. 29-Dec. 7) earlier this season, he became only the sixth BC player since the 1989-90 season to reach the 20-point plateau in three consecutive contests. Bill Curley (twice), Danya Abrams (three times), Scoonie Penn, Antonio Granger and Kenny Harley are the others. Only Penn accomplished the feat as a freshman.
b Troy Bell has garnered BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors four times this season.
#3 MICHAEL COTTON
The senior swingman is averaging 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game ... He registered 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals -- all season highs -- in the Eagles' loss at Notre Dame (Jan. 12). He played a season-high 35 minutes against the Irish ... Cotton tallied six points in 16 minutes in the Eagles' win over Providence (Jan. 8) ... He tallied nine points against Tulsa (Dec. 21) in the first round of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic ... He contributed four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in a home win over Michigan (Dec. 19) ... He registered seven points in 25 minutes against Massachusetts (Dec. 4).
#4 JONATHAN BEERBOHM
The junior forward is averaging 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game this season. He has scored in double figures in seven games this season ... Most recently, he contributed eight points and five rebounds at Notre Dame (Jan. 12) ... He recorded 14 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and two steals in a season-high 29 minutes against Michigan (Dec. 19). The game marked his first collegiate double-double.
Puerto Rico Holiday Classic
Beerbohm earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in three games. He recorded nine points and five rebounds against Tulsa (Dec. 21) ... Against Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 22), Beerbohm tallied 13 points, including the decisive three-point field goal with 18 seconds remaining in the game that lifted BC to the victory ... Against Massachusetts (Dec. 23), the junior equaled his career high with 14 points, while falling one rebound shy of a double-double.
Ironman
Today will mark Beerbohm's 73rd consecutive game at Boston College. The junior from Fairbury, Neb. has played in every game since his arrival in Chestnut Hill in the fall of 1997.
#5 DWAYNE PINA
The senior guard is averaging 1.4 points and 0.8 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game this season ... After missing three games because of a left hip injury, he returned to action against Massachusetts (Dec. 23) in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic. He contributed one rebound, one assist, two steals and steady ballhandling in 15 minutes of action ... Pina tallied five points (all free throws), two rebounds, two assists and three steals in 19 minutes against New Hampshire (Nov. 20) ... 1998-99: 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 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 18.8 minutes per game this season ... Most recently, Harley registered seven points, three rebounds and three assists at Notre Dame (Jan. 12) ... He recorded nine points, two rebounds and three assists against Tulsa (Dec. 21) ... Two days later, he contributed five points (2-for-2 FG, 1-for-1 trey) in 19 minutes against Massachusetts ... Harley registered four points and a season-high six rebounds against St. Francis (Dec. 11) ... He scored a season-high 14 points (5-for-10 FG, 4-for-4 FT) in the Eagles' win over Hartford (Nov. 29) ... Harley 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.
#21 KENNY WALLS
The sophomore swingman is averaging 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in five games this season ... Walls contributed nine points, three rebounds and four assists in the Eagles' win over Providence (Jan. 8). He played a season-high 32 minutes against the Friars ... He registered 11 points and six rebounds against Iona ... In the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, Walls averaged 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He netted 14 points in each of the first two games (vs. Tulsa and Ilinois-Chicago). Against Illinois-Chicago, he also contributed six rebounds, four assists and two steals. He finished the tournament with a seven-point, four-rebound effort in the win over Massachusetts ... Walls recorded 14 points and nine rebounds against St. Francis (Dec. 11). His nine rebounds equaled his career high ... He scored a team-high 18 points in the Eagles' season opener against New Hampshire (Nov. 20).
#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 ... Dudley hails from nearly Bristol, Pa.
#45 BRIAN ROSS
The sophomore forward is averaging 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game ... He has scored in double figures in three games ... Most recently, Ross registered two points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 23 minutes at Notre Dame (Jan. 12). He missed the final 6:22 of the first half after taking an elbow to the head from Notre Dame forward Troy Murphy. He sustained a mild concussion, but returned for the second half ... Ross notched six points, six rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes against Providence (Jan. 8) ... He netted three points in BC's win over Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 22) in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, snapping a string of three games without a point ... He grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against St. Francis (Dec. 11) ... Ross recorded eight points and a game-high eight rebounds at Holy Cross (Dec. 7) ... He netted 10 points (3-for-4 FG, 1-for-1 trey, 3-for-3 FT) in a season-high 32 minutes against Massachusetts (Dec. 4) ... Ross registered 14 points (6-for-10 FG) and eight rebounds against Vermont (Nov. 23).
#23 XAVIER SINGLETARY
The junior guard is the Eagles' second-leading scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 12 games, including two games with 20 or more points ... He has led the team in scoring in two games ... Most recently, he netted 14 points at Notre Dame (Jan. 12) ... Singletary led the Eagles in scoring in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, averaging 16.3 points per game. He netted 12 points against Tulsa (Dec. 21) and 11 against Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 22), before exploding for 26 points against Massachusetts (Dec. 23). He shot 8-for-17 from the field against UMass, including 7-for-14 from three-point range. His seven three-pointers were the most by a BC player in one game since Dana Barros made nine treys at Pittsburgh on Jan. 7, 1989 ... In the Eagles' 89-71 win over Michigan (Dec. 19), Singletary registered 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. He scored 10 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes ... He scored 20 points (7-for-12 FG, 3-for-7 three-pointers) in the Eagles' win over Vermont (Nov. 23).
Steals
Singletary leads the Eagles with 28 steals in 14 games. He made four steals in each of two games in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic -- against Tulsa (Dec. 21) and Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 22) ... He made three steals, including two in the final 1:02, against Providence (Jan. 8).
Before BC
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.
UP NEXT
Boston College hosts Georgetown on Tuesday, Jan. 18 in Conte Forum. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and will be televised by espn2.
BENCH SCORING
| New Hampshire | 52-15 |
| Vermont | 22-18 |
| at Penn State | 23-22 |
| Hartford | 38-30 |
| Massachusetts | 17-22 |
| at Holy Cross | 8-4 |
| St. Francis | 33-11 |
| Michigan | 31-9 |
| Tulsa (Puerto Rico) | 28-15 |
| Illinois-Chicago (Puerto Rico) | 29-8 |
| Massachusetts (Puerto Rico) | 28-22 |
| Iona | 23-18 |
| Providence | 19-20 |
| at Notre Dame | 17-15 |
| STARTING LINEUP | W-L |
| Agbai, Cotton, Ross, Bell, Singletary | 6-4 |
| Cotton, Harley, Ross, Bell, Singletary | 3-1 |
OUR RECORD WHEN...
| BC shoots 50 percent or better: | 3-0 |
| BC shoots 40-49 percent: | 4-1 |
| BC shoots 30-39 percent: | 2-4 |
| BC shoots below 30 percent: | 0-0 |
| Opponent shoots 50 percent or better: | 0-2 |
| Opponent shoots 40-49 percent: | 5-2 |
| Opponent shoots 30-39 percent: | 4-1 |
| Opponent shoots below 30 percent: | 0-0 |
| BC shoots better from field | 6-1 |
| BC shoots same/worse from field | 3-4 |
| BC leads at half: | 8-0 |
| BC is tied at half: | 0-0 |
| BC is losing at half: | 1-5 |
| BC commits fewer turnovers: | 6-2 |
| BC commits more turnovers: | 2-3 |
| Turnovers are even | 1-0 |
| BC outrebounds opponent: | 6-3 |
| BC is outrebounded: | 3-2 |
| Rebounds are even | 0-0 |
| BC shoots 70 percent or better FT | 4-3 |
| BC hits more free throws | 9-2 |
| BC scores less than 50 points | 0-0 |
| BC scores 50-59 points | 1-1 |
| BC scores 60-69 points | 2-3 |
| BC scores 70-79 points | 1-1 |
| BC scores 80 or more points | 5-0 |
| Opponent scores less than 50 points | 1-0 |
| Opponent scores 50-59 points | 1-0 |
| Opponent scores 60-69 points | 6-0 |
| Opponent scores 70-79 points | 1-2 |
| Opponent scores 80 or more points | 0-3 |
| BC bench outscores opponent bench | 8-4 |
| Game is decided by 1-4 points | 0-0 |
| Game is decided by 5-10 points | 4-3 |
| Game is decided by 11 points or more | 5-2 |
| In overtime | 0-0 |
LEADING THE EAGLES...
Led team in scoring
Bell (10)
Walls (2)
Singletary (2)
Led team in rebounding
Ross (5)
Agbai (5)
Beerbohm (3)
Cotton (3)
Walls (2)
Millar (1)
Singletary (1)
Double-Figure Rebounds
Ross (1)
Beerbohm (1)
Double-Figure Scoring
Bell (13)
Singletary (12)
Beerbohm (7)
Walls (5)
Ross (3)
Agbai (3)
Cotton (1)
Harley (1)
20+-point Games
Bell (7)
Singletary (2)
Double-Doubles
Beerbohm (1)
