Boston College Athletics
Men's Basketball Readies For Commonwealth Classic
December 15, 2000 | Men's Basketball
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BOSTON COLLEGE VS. MASSACHUSETTS GAME NOTES
December 17, 2000 -- 4 p.m. -- Mullins Center -- Amherst, Mass.
TODAY'S GAME: Boston College visits Massachusetts in a non-league game in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. The "Commonwealth Classic" is in its sixth year. The first three games were played in the FleetCenter, the 1998-99 game was played in the Worcester Centrum, and last year's game was played in Boston College's Silvio O. Conte Forum.
THE SERIES AGAINST MASSACHUSETTS: Today's game marks the 34th meeting between the Eagles and the Minutemen. Massachusetts holds a 17-16 advantage in the series. Boston College won the last meeting, defeating UMass, 83-59, in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on Dec. 23, 1999. Massachusetts had won the previous six games.
SERIES NOTES: Boston College's longest winning streak in the series was seven games (Feb. 2, 1965 - Feb. 3, 1970) ... UMass' longest winning streak was six games, a streak that ended last December ... BC has twice scored 100 points against the Minutemen. Massachusetts' top single-game point total is 97 (in a 109-97 loss in Curry Hicks Cage on Feb. 2, 1965) ... BC's 109-point effort on Feb. 2, 1965 marks the most points ever scored against Massachusetts in Amherst ... BC has a 5-6 all-time record in games played in Amherst. BC's last trip to Amherst resulted in an 85-69 loss (Feb. 2, 1977).
FAST START: Boston College enters today's game with a 6-0 record. The last BC team to get off to such a strong start was the 1993-94 Eagles. That team, led by seniors Gerrod Abram, Bill Curley, Howard Eisley and Malcolm Huckaby, begin its season with a 7-0 record. The streak ended with a 70-65 loss to #13 Arizona in the second round of the Maui Invitational ... The longest winning streak to begin a season is 10-0, established by the 1984-85 squad. That team, led by guard Michael Adams, earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
REBOUNDING: Through six games, Boston College enjoys a +6.5 rebounding margin (per game) over its opponents. The Eagles are averaging 39.5 rebounds per game, while their foes are averaging 33.0 rebounds per game. Boston College has outrebounded five of its six opponents this season.
LONG RANGE: Boston College hit a season-high 10 three-point field goals in its most recent win -- a 93-65 victory over Youngstown State. The 10 three-pointers (on 23 attempts) surpassed the team's previous best of nine, set one game earlier against Holy Cross. It also marked the most three-point field goals made in one game by a BC team since the Eagles shot 12-for-24 against St. John's in the BIG EAST Tournament on March 5, 1998 ... BC shot 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from long range against Holy Cross, its best single-game percentage since shooting .529 (9-for-17) in a win at West Virginia on Feb. 19, 2000.
FOCUS ON ... AL SKINNER
Al Skinner is in his fourth season as the head coach at Boston College and his 13th season as a collegiate head coach. He has has a career record of 176-182. Skinner is a 1974 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, where he enjoyed a stellar collegiate basketball career (1971-74). Skinner still ranks among the school's career and single-season leaders in numerous categories.
CAREER MARKSMore Facts: Skinner led Massachusetts in scoring in two of his three seasons. He led the Minutemen in field goal percentage, rebounding and minutes played in all three of his seasons ... Skinner was a three-time All-Yankee Conference first team selection and a two-time NABC All-District first team choice.Category Rank Stats Points Scored 16th 1,235 points Field Goal Percentage 3rd .557 (479-860) Rebounding Average 10th 9.5 rpg Assists 9th 320
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS
Category Rank Stats Field Goal Percentage 4th .620 (1973-74)
SINGLE-GAME MARKS
Category Rank Stats Free Throws Made T-2nd 17 (Dec. 16, 1971)
Hall of Fame: Al Skinner has been inducted into both the University of Massachusetts Athletic Hall of Fame (1982) and the University of Rhode Island Hall of Fame (2000). Skinner spent nine years as the Rams' head coach, winning 138 games and guiding URI to four post-season tournaments.
OVERTIME: Boston College has yet to play an overtime game this season. In fact, the Eagles have not played an overtime game since defeating Seton Hall, 97-87, in the opening round of the 1998 BIG EAST Championship Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 5, 1998 ... BC has a 1-1 overtime record since Al Skinner become the team's head coach prior to the 1997-98 season. The other overtime game was a 68-65 loss to Villanova in The Pavilion in Villanova, Pa. on Jan. 6, 1998.
BC-Massachusetts OT history: In the 33-game history of the Boston College-Massachusetts series just one game has gone into overtime. Boston College defeated the Minutemen, 78-74, in Roberts Center (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) on Feb. 6, 1974.
68th SEASON: The 2000-01 season marks the 68th season of varsity play for Boston College. The Eagles have an 877-720 (.549) overall record.
BY CLASS: The 2000-01 Eagle roster features five seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen.
FOCUS ON ... TROY BELL
STILL AMAZING: Sophomore Troy Bell, the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, is the Eagles' leading scorer. Bell is averaging 21.5 points per game on 40-of-76 shooting from the field (.526). He has hit 11-of-26 three-point attempts (.423). The sophomore equaled his career high with 31 points in the season opener against St. Peter's.
STEPPING UP: Bell has netted 20 or more points in four of the Eagles' first six games. In addition to his 31-point effort against St. Peter's, Bell scored 26 points against Marist (11/28), 20 points against Wofford (12/2), and 24 points against Youngstown State (12/9).
REALLY FREE: Troy Bell has made 38-of-42 free-throw attempts (.905) this season ... In the opener against St. Peter's, 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 ... He was 6-for-6 from the line against Brown, and 7-for-7 from the line against Wofford. The Wofford game marked the 10th time in his collegiate career that he'd been perfect from the line when attempting six or more shots ... Bell finished the 1999-2000 season ranked second among NCAA Division I leaders in free-throw percentage (.894).
MORE THAN A SCORER: Troy Bell's efforts have proved he's much more than just a scorer. Through six games, he leads the Eagles in assists (4.2 per game) and steals (2.8 per game). Already this season, he's established a new career highs in assists (six against Brown and Holy Cross) and steals (eight against St. Peter's) ... By the way, Bell has also recorded five blocked shots this season.
LEAGUE LEADER: Troy Bell ranks among BIG EAST leaders in five categories: scoring (fifth), field-goal percentage (seventh), free-throw percentage (second), steals (first) and assist-turnover ratio (tied-second, 2.50).
DRAWING ATTENTION: It didn't take too many collegiate games before Troy Bell's talents -- especially his three-point shooting abilities -- were recognized. Long before he captured BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors last March, Bell had his opponents keeping a special eye -- and sometimes more than that -- on him. Witness this: Last season, Bell was fouled on a three-point attempt 18 times in 16 games, including 12 of 14 BIG EAST games (including twice in each of two games -- at Connecticut and at West Virginia). He made all three free throws 13 times. He made 2-of-3 free throws four times. And what about the other time when he was fouled on a three-point attempt? Well, Bell still hit the trey -- and then made the one free throw that followed (against Hartford).
DOING IT AGAIN: Already this season, Bell has been fouled on three of his three-point field goal attempts. In the Eagles' season-opening win over St. Peter's, Bell was twice fouled on three-point attempts. He made all three free throws the first time, and made 2-of-3 free throws the second time. Against Holy Cross, he made all three free throws when fouled on a three-point attempt. Entering this game, Bell's collegiate totals in this area look like this: He's been fouled 21 times on three-point attempts. He's made 56 of the ensuing 61 free throws (3-of-3 -- 15 times, 2-of-3 -- five times, 1-of-1 -- once). When he has missed, he's missed the first shot three times, the second shot once and the third shot once.
PUTTING UP POINTS: Troy Bell has scored in double figures in 31 of his 33 collegiate games, including all 21 games played in Conte Forum. The sophomore has registered 20 or more points 16 times (10 in Conte), including two games with more than 30 points (one in Conte).
TWO GOOD HALVES: While no one can argue with Troy Bell's performance in either half, it's interesting to note how he fares in each half.. Through six games, the sophomore guard is averaging 9.7 points on 46.2 percent shooting from the field in the first half, before raising his numbers to 11.8 points on 59.5 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
SENIOR SPLASH: Senior guard Kenny Harley has been a key contributor in the Eagles' first six games this season. Harley leads the team in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and ranks fifth on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg). The senior recorded a point-rebound double-double in each of the Eagles' first three games. Remarkably, he accomplished this feat after not registering even one double-double in any of the first 88 games during his first three years at Boston College (1997-2000) ... He tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds against St. Peter's (11/19), 11 points and 10 rebounds against Brown (11/25), and 14 points and 11 rebounds against Marist (11/28) ... In the Eagles' game against Holy Cross (12/4), Harley fell one point shy of his fourth double-double of the season. He finished with nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
REBOUNDING FACT: Kenny Harley's 15-rebound effort against Holy Cross was the highest single-game rebounding total by a BC player since Danya Abrams grabbed 16 rebounds at Syracuse on Jan. 7, 1997.
NOT A COMMON OCCURRENCE: Harley's streak of three consecutive double-doubles is not something that happens very often. In fact, the last BC player to accomplish this feat was Danya Abrams '97. Abrams registered back-to-back-to-back double-doubles late in the 1995-96 season (18 points, 11 rebounds against Pittsburgh in the BIG EAST Tournament, 3/6/96, 31 points, 12 rebounds against Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament, 3/7/96, and 22 points, 17 rebounds against Indiana in the NCAA Tournament, 3/15/96).
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.
*** THE LAST TWO GAMES ***
Boston College 93, Youngstown State 65 (Dec. 9, 2000): Sophomore guard Troy Bell scored 24 points to lead four Boston College players in double figures as the host Eagles defeated Youngstown State. Joining Bell in double digits were Uka Agbai (15 points), Xavier Singletary (13) and Kenny Walls (12). Kenny Harley grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. BC used an early surge to take control of the contest. The Eagles led 11-2 just four minutes into the game, and extended its margin to 27-5 with 10:53 remaining in the first half. Walls scored all 12 of his points in this early stretch. YSU's Craig Haese sank a three-pointer to trim the BC advantage to 27-8, but the Penguins could never draw any closer. BC led by as many as 29 points - 50-21 - before settling for a 50-25 halftime lead. The Penguins opened the second half with a three-pointer, before BC extended its lead even further. BC junior Brian Ross and senior Nicolas Dunn netted back-to-back three-pointers late in the second half to give the Eagles their largest lead at 90-53. BC made a season-high 16 steals.
Boston College 77, Holy Cross 48 (Dec. 4, 2000): Senior forward Xavier Singletary scored a team-high 19 points and senior guard Kenny Harley registered a career-high 15 rebounds to lead host Boston College to a win over Holy Cross. Troy Bell netted 15 points, while Kenny Walls added 13 points for the Eagles. BC jumped out quickly, using the three-point field goal and solid defense to take a 20-4 lead just more than eight minutes into the contest. Walls and Singletary each hit two three-pointers in this stretch, while the Eagles' defense forced eight Crusader turnovers. The Eagles extended the margin to 25 points - 47-22 - on Singletary's fourth three-pointer of the night with 1:14 left before intermission. BC shot 57.1 percent from the field, including 66.7 percent from three-point range, to take a 46-26 halftime advantage. Holy Cross hit one free throw to begin the second half, but could never get any closer. Boston College led by as many as 33 points - 77-44 with 5:27 to play - in the second half.
*** THE PLAYERS ***
#00 UKA AGBAI: Sophomore forward Uka Agbai is averaging 10.7 points per game through six games. He has scored in double figures in three contests, including a team-high 17 points against Brown. His 17 points fell two shy of his career high (19), set at Vanderbilt on Feb. 6, 2000 ... The 6-foot-8-inch, 245-pounder contributed 15 points in the win over Youngstown State ... He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds against Wofford.
#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. He netted 26 points against Marist, 20 against Wofford, and 24 against Youngstown State ... 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). He also garnered Basketball Times Freshman All-America second team honors.
#3 LUDMIL HADJISOTIROV: Freshman guard Ludmil Hadjisotirov, who missed the season opener against St. Peter's because of a sprained PIP joint on the middle finger on his right hand, made his presence felt in the Eagles' win over Wofford. In 16 minutes of action, Hadjisotirov tallied 12 points while directing the Eagles' offense ... He registered five points and two assists in 14 minutes in his collegiate debut -- against Brown ... Most recently, he recorded two points, two rebounds, two steals and three assists against Youngstown State ... 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 is averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season ... He 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. Most recently, he contributed seven points, four rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots in 14 minutes against Youngstown State.
#5 RYAN SIDNEY: Freshman guard Ryan Sidney is averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Most recently, he registered nine points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals against Youngstown State ... Sidney began his collegiate career with a 12-point, three-assist effort against St. Peter's. He 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 ... Sidney recorded seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 21 minutes of action against Holy Cross ... He earned All-State Class A first team honors as a senior at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Pioneer High School last winter.
#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 15 games. He's played in four of the team's six games this season ... He netted his first points of the season against Youngstown State, sinking a three-pointer late in the game to give BC its largest lead of the day.
#11 ERIK WITT: Sophomore forward/center Erik Witt will not be in uniform for today's game. The Bonn, Germany product is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing back surgery this past summer.
#13 KENNY HARLEY: Senior guard Kenny Harley is averaging 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season ... He had played in 88 games in his first three seasons, but it wasn't until Nov. 19, 2000 -- 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. He followed that effort with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance against Brown, and a 14-point, 11-rebound effort against Marist ... Harley fell just one point shy of recording his fourth double-double of the season. He notched nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Holy Cross ... Harley has missed only one game -- at Rutgers (Feb. 13, 1999) -- since arriving in Chestnut Hill in the fall of 1997 ... He has scored in double figures 21 times in 93 collegiate games.
#15 WILL POOLE: Sophomore guard Will Poole won't be in uniform today -- and don't expect to see him for several more weeks. Poole, a starting cornerback for the Eagles' football team, is busy preparing for the team's second consecutive bowl appearance. Boston College will play in the Jeep Aloha Bowl on Dec. 25. The game will be played in Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.
#21 KENNY WALLS: Junior Kenny Walls is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He is tied for second on the team -- behind Harley and even with Xavier Singletary -- in rebounding ... Walls tallied 14 points and eight rebounds in the season opener against St. Peter's. He registered 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals against Holy Cross. Most recently, Walls contributed 12 points and five rebounds against Youngstown State ... Walls is the only member of the 2000-01 team who played in all 57 games during the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons ... He has scored in double figures 32 times in 63 collegiate games.
Wasting No Time: Kenny Walls has scored 36 points in the Eagles' last three games -- 11 against Wofford, 13 against Holy Cross and 12 against Youngstown State. All but two of those points have come in the first half of play. Against Wofford, Walls registered his 11th point on a dunk with 6:01 remaining in the opening half. Against Holy Cross, Walls' 11th point came on a three-point field goal with 8:06 left before the intermission (the other two came with 18:41 remaining in the second half). Against Youngstown State, Walls scored his 12th and final point of the game with 11:58 left in the first half.
#23 XAVIER SINGLETARY: Senior guard Xavier Singletary is averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Eagles. He has scored in double figures in each of the last four games. Most recently, Singletary registered 13 points (5-for-8 FG, 2-for-3 treys) and seven rebounds against Youngstown State ... He tallied a season-high 19 points (7-for-13 FG, 4-for-7 treys) in the win over Holy Cross. He scored 15 of his 19 points in the opening half ... Singletary recorded his first collegiate double-double against Marist, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds ... The senior recorded 11 points (nine in the second half) and five rebounds in the win over Wofford ... Singletary played two seasons at Howard University (1996-98), before transferring 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.
#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 played a career-high 16 minutes in the season opener against St. Peter's.
#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 its 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. DeMong, who hails from Glen Ellyn, Ill., has seen action in three of the team's first six games ... He 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, who joined the team as a walk-on just prior to the start of the 2000-01 season, has seen action in four of the team's six games this season. He scored the Eagles' last basket against Brown to record his first collegiate points ... Ekweozor served as the women's basketball team manager during the 1999-2000 season. He 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 is averaging 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game this season ... He recorded five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes against Brown, his 2000-01 debut. He missed the season opener against St. Peter's because of a left thigh contusion ... Ross played in 53 games in his first two seasons with the Eagles. 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 176-182. He was inducted into the University of Rhode Island Hall of Fame this past October... Skinner is assisted by Tim O'Shea, Bill Coen, Ed Cooley and Pat Duquette.
THE SIGNEES: Three highly-regarded student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play basketball at Boston College. Jermaine Watson, a 6-foot-3-inch guard from Dorchester, Mass., Kirsten Zoellmer, a 7-foot-1-inch center from Hanover, Germany, and Craig Smith, a 6-foot-7-inch forward from Los Angeles, Calif. will join the Eagles beginning with the 2001-02 season. Watson currently plays at Tabor (Mass.) Academy. Zoellmer plays for the Hanover club team in the second division of the German Club League. Smith plays for Fairfax (Calif.) High School.
