Boston College Athletics
Men's Basketball Prepares for Brown
November 22, 2000 | Men's Basketball
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BOSTON COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
vs. Brown -- November 25, 2000
Silvio O. Conte Forum -- Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- 1 p.m.
HOME RECORD: The 2000-01 season marks Boston College's 13th season in Conte Forum. The Eagles have a 104-72 all-time record in their current home ... Last year, BC had a 7-8 home record, marking only the fourth season it had lost more home games than it had won ... BC has a 33-5 record in its last 38 non-conference home games (1993-94 season - present).
68th SEASON: The 2000-01 season marks the 68th season of varsity play for Boston College. The Eagles have an 872-720 (.548) overall record.
THE TEAM: Boston College returns nine lettermen from last year's team, including four starters and seven of its top eight scorers. While Troy Bell paced the 1999-2000 team with an 18.8 ppg average, swingman Xavier Singletary also finished with a double-figure scoring average at 12.0 ppg. Other starters returning are sophomore forward Uka Agbai (6.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg in 1999-2000) and junior forward Brian Ross (3.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg).
BY CLASS: The 2000-01 Eagle roster features five seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen.
GOOD NUMBERS: The Eagles return 87.7 percent of their scoring production from last season, including each of their top five scorers ... BC's returning players also accounted for 82.4 percent of last season's individual rebounding total.
THE SERIES AGAINST BROWN: Boston College has an 18-1 all-time record against Brown. The Eagles won the most recent meeting, gaining an 89-72 home victory on Nov. 22, 1996. Brown's only win was a 76-70 triumph in Providence, R.I. on Dec. 15, 1960.
Coach Skinner vs. Brown: Boston College head coach Al Skinner has an 8-1 career record against the Bears. Each of the nine meetings came while Skinner was the head coach at the University of Rhode Island.
*** THE SEASON OPENER ***
Boston College 100, St. Peter's 75 (Nov. 19, 2000): Sophomore Troy Bell registered 31 points, eight steals and five assists to lead the Eagles in their season opener. Bell's 31 points and five assists both matched his career highs, while his eight steals were a career best. Bell led five BC players in double figures. He was joined by senior Kenny Harley (19 points), junior Kenny Walls (14), freshman Ryan Sidney (12) and senior Jonathan Beerbohm (11). Harley also grabbed 10 rebounds to record his first collegiate double-double ... BC led 44-23 at the intermission and never allowed the visiting Peacocks to close within 20 points in the second half. BC played without junior Brian Ross (left thigh contusion) and freshman Ludmil Hadjisotirov (middle finger injury on right hand).
100 POINTS: The 100-point effort against St. Peter's marked the 73rd time in BC basketball history that the Eagles had reached the century mark ... The last time BC had tallied triple figures prior to the season opener was on Nov. 29, 1999 (104-62 win over Hartford).
DOUBLE FIGURES: Five teammates scoring 10 or more points in the same game is not a common occurrence. Five Eagles did so against St. Peter's, marking the first time a BC team had accomplished this feat since Nov. 29, 1999 against Hartford. In that 104-62 win, six Eagles scored in double figures, led by Troy Bell's 22-point, 22-minute effort.
STILL AMAZING: Even after a sensational, award-winning freshman campaign, Troy Bell continues to amaze -- his teammates, opponents and fans. Not only did the sophomore equal his career high with 31 points against St. Peter's, but he did so on 8-for-12 shooting from the field (3-for-5 from three-point range). He also continued his 1999-2000 trend of drawing fouls and getting to the foul line. In the opener, he converted 12 of 14 free-throw attempts. The game marked the seventh time in his young career he'd attempted 10 or more free throws in one game, and the sixth time he'd made 10 or more in one game.
MORE THAN A SCORER: Troy Bell's season-opening effort also proved he's much more than just a scorer. Bell equaled his career high by handing out five assists against St. Peter's. He also established a career high with eight steals. The last time a BC player had made eight steals in one game was Dec. 2, 1985 (Dominic Pressley vs. New Hampshire).
SENIOR SPLASH: Senior guard Kenny Harley made his senior debut a memorable one. The Bronx, N.Y. product tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds. His 19 points were his highest single-game total since the last regular-season game of his sophomore season (career-high 21 points at Notre Dame, Feb. 28, 1999). The point-rebound double double was his first in 89 collegiate games.
*** THE EXHIBITION GAMES ***
EXHIBITION #1 RECAP: Freshman guard Ryan Sidney scored 15 points to lead four Boston College players in double figures as the Eagles opened their 2000-01 season with a 92-85 exhibition loss to the BABC Alumni on Nov. 5. Joining Sidney in double digits for the Eagles were sophomore forward Uka Agbai (13 points), senior guard Xavier Singletary (11 points) and sophomore guard Troy Bell (11 points). Boston College trailed 51-37 at halftime, but battled back in the second half. The Eagles trimmed the visitors' advantage to four points - 61-57 - with 10:02 to play. After the BABC Alumni regained a double-figure lead with a 12-6 run, Boston College rallied again. BC narrowed its deficit to three points three times in the final five minutes, the last time on an Agbai lay-in with 2:41 left.
EXHIBITION #2 RECAP: Junior Kenny Walls and sophomore Troy Bell each scored 21 points to lead Boston College to a 97-77 exhibition win over the California All-Stars on Nov. 13. Senior Xavier Singletary added 15 points and a team-high seven assists. BC trailed by as many as 16 points (24-8) in the first half, before rallying to trim the visitors' margin to three points -- 40-37 -- at halftime. BC tied the game at 45-45 early in the second half, then used a 16-5 run to gain a double-digit advantage with 11:30 remaining ... BC outrebounded the California All-Stars, 42-32 ... The Eagles committed just 10 turnovers, while forcing 22.
SEEING DOUBLE: When junior Kenny Walls is racing up and down the court for the Eagles, don't be surprised to see a spectator with a great resemblance to #21 on the sidelines. Indeed, Kenny's twin brother, Lenny, is also a student-athlete at Boston College. Lenny is a starting cornerback for Tom O'Brien's football Eagles.
*** PLAYER NOTES ***
#00 UKA AGBAI: Sophomore forward Uka Agbai may have caught many opponents - and other observers - off guard last winter. That probably won't be the case this year. As a rather unheralded freshman, the powerful, 6-foot-8-inch, now 245-pounder competed against the BIG EAST's best big men - and more than held his own. He finished the season averaging 6.6 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures seven times and twice registered double-digit rebounding totals (one double-double).
#2 TROY BELL: Sophomore guard Troy Bell proved he hasn't lost a step after undergoing successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee last March. He tallied 31 points, five assists and eight steals in the season opener against St. Peter's ... Bell earned All-BIG EAST first team honors in a preseason poll of the league's 14 head coaches. Last winter, Bell captured BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors after establishing the league record for freshman scoring (averaging 20.1 ppg in league contests).
#3 LUDMIL HADJISOTIROV: Freshman guard Ludmil Hadjisotirov missed last Sunday's season opener against St. Peter's because of a sprained PIP joint on the middle finger on his right hand, but is expected to make his collegiate debut today. The freshman, who hails from Sofia, Bulgaria, played the last two years at the Winchendon (Mass.) School. This past summer, Hadjisotirov returned to Bulgaria and played with his country's junior national team.
#4 JONATHAN BEERBOHM: Senior forward Jonathan Beerbohm tallied 11 points and seven rebounds in the season opener against St. Peter's. The double-figure effort was the 16th of his collegiate career. In his first three seasons, Beerbohm averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 87 games. In the Eagles' two exhibition games this season, the Fairbury, Neb. native averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
#5 RYAN SIDNEY: Freshman guard Ryan Sidney began his collegiate career with a 12-point, three-assist effort against St. Peter's. Sidney scored all of his points in the second half, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes ... He earned All-State Class A first team honors as a senior at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Pioneer High School last winter. The 6-foot-2-inch guard was impressive in each of the Eagles' two exhibition games earlier this month. Against the BABC All-Stars (Nov. 5), Sidney scored a team-high 15 points, while also contributing three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Against the California All-Stars (Nov. 13), the freshman netted eight points, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
#10 NICOLAS DUNN: Senior guard Nicolas Dunn joined the team as a walk-on three years ago. The Braintree, Mass. native has seen limited action in 12 games.
#13 KENNY HARLEY: Senior guard Kenny Harley had played in 88 games in his first three seasons, but it wasn't until last Sunday -- the first game of his senior season -- that the Bronx, N.Y. product registered a point-rebound double double. He recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds against St. Peter's ... Harley has missed only one game -- at Rutgers (Feb. 13, 1999) -- since arriving in Chestnut Hill in the fall of 1997. The 6-foot-5-inch guard averaged 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in his first three seasons. After last week's opener, he has now scored in double figures 19 times.
#21 KENNY WALLS: Junior Kenny Walls tallied 14 points and eight rebounds in the season opener against St. Peter's ... Walls gained valuable experience in his first two seasons with the Eagles. He is the only member of the 2000-01 team who played in all 57 games over the past two seasons. Last winter, he averaged 8.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 14 times in 1999-2000.
#23 XAVIER SINGLETARY: Senior guard Xavier Singletary's size and skills give the BC coaches several options of where to use him. Singletary played two seasons at Howard University (1996-98), before tranferring to Boston College. After sitting out the 1998-99 season, Singletary played in 29 games for the Eagles in 1999-2000. He finished his first BC campaign averaging 12.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. In the team's two exhibition contests earlier this month, the senior averaged 13.0 points per game on 9-for-19 shooting from the floor. He handed out a team-high seven assists in the Eagles' 97-77 win over the California All-Stars (Nov. 13).
#32 ANDREW DUDLEY: Sophomore center Andrew Dudley saw action in 14 games in his first season with the Eagles. The 6-foot-11-inch, 240-pound Dudley, who played a career-high 16 minutes in the season opener against St. Peter's, is expected to see increased playing time this winter. He registered two blocked shots in each of the team's two exhibition games earlier this month.
#34 ANDREW BRYANT: Freshman forward Andrew Bryant came to BC from Denison (Texas) High School, where he earned All-State (Class 4A) first team honors in 1999-2000 ... The coaching staff has announced their intention to redshirt Bryant this season, giving him four years of eligibility beginning with the 2001-02 campaign.
#40 ADAM DeMONG: Sophomore guard Adam DeMong joined the Eagles just prior to the start of official team practices last month. DeMong, who hails from Glen Ellyn, Ill., earned All-Area honors as a senior at Glenbard West High School. He averaged 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the Hilltoppers in 1998-99.
#41 JON EKWEOZOR: Senior guard Jon Ekweozor joined the team as a walk-on last month. He served as the women's basketball team manager during the 1999-2000 season. Ekweozor is a resident of Newton, Mass., and is a 1997 graduate of Newton North High School. He earned Bay State League all-star honors as a senior.
#45 BRIAN ROSS: Junior forward Brian Ross played in 53 games in his first two seasons with the Eagles, but he missed the 2000-01 season opener against St. Peter's last weekend because of a left thigh contusion. Last winter, Ross battled back problems, but still managed to play in 27 games (starting 18). He averaged 3.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He led the team in rebounding six times.
DWAYNE PINA: Senior guard Dwayne Pina, who had one season of eligibility remaining, will miss the Eagles' 2000-01 season because of a cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is a structural or functional abnormality of the heart muscle that causes a weakening of the heart and results in its inability to pump blood efficiently. Pina played in 78 games in three seasons.
THE COACHING STAFF: Al Skinner and his staff are in their fourth season at the Heights. Now in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach, Skinner has a career record of 171-182. He was recently inducted into the University of Rhode Island Hall of Fame ... Skinner is assisted by Tim O'Shea, Bill Coen, Ed Cooley and Pat Duquette.
