Boston College Athletics
Men's Basketball Readies For Youngstown State
December 08, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BOSTON COLLEGE vs. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
GAME NOTES -- December 9, 2000 -- Chestnut Hill, Mass.
THE SERIES AGAINST YOUNGSTOWN STATE: Today's game marks the first-ever meeting between the Eagles and the Penguins.
EAGLES VS. MID-CONTINENT CONFERENCE: Boston College has a 1-0 all-time record against teams from the Mid-Continent Conference. The Eagles defeated Valparaiso, 73-66, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's West Regional in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 13, 1997.
YSU LINKS: Boston College director of athletics Gene DeFilippo served as offensive coordinator on the Youngstown State University football staff from 1975-79. During his tenure, the Penguins won two consecutive Mid-Continent Conference championships (1978, 1979).
REBOUNDING: Through five games, Boston College enjoys a +8.8 rebounding margin (per game) over its opponents. The Eagles are averaging 38.8 rebounds per game, while their foes are averaging 30.0 rebounds per game. Boston College has outrebounded each of its five opponents this season.
FAST START: Boston College enters today's game with a 5-0 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.
LONG RANGE: Boston College hit 9-of-19 three-point attempts in its victory over Holy Cross. The nine three-pointers made was the Eagles' single-game best this season and matched the 1999-2000 team's single-game high (set five times) ... The 47.4 percent success rate from long range was the Eagles' single-game best since shooting .529 (9-for-17) in a win at West Virginia on Feb. 19, 2000.
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).
HOME RECORD: The 2000-01 season marks Boston College's 13th season in Conte Forum. The Eagles have a 108-72 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 37-5 record in its last 42 non-conference home games (1993-94 season - present).
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 ... The last overtime game in Conte Forum saw Miami defeat BC, 77-71, on Feb. 25, 1995.
68th SEASON: The 2000-01 season marks the 68th season of varsity play for Boston College. The Eagles have an 876-720 (.549) overall record.
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.
SENIOR SPLASH: Senior guard Kenny Harley has been remarkably productive in the Eagles' first five games this season. Harley ranks second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (9.6 rpg). 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' most recent 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.
STILL AMAZING: Sophomore Troy Bell, the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, is the Eagles' leading scorer through five games. Bell is averaging 21.0 points per game on 32-of-62 shooting from the field (.516). He has hit 8-of-21 three-point attempts (.381). 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 three of the Eagles' first five games. In addition to his 31-point effort against St. Peter's, Bell scored 26 points against Marist (11/28) and 20 points against Wofford (12/2).
REALLY FREE: Troy Bell has made 33-of-36 free-throw attempts (.917) this season. Most recently, he made 6-of-7 attempts against Holy Cross. His one miss -- on the second of two shots with 13:55 remaining in the second half -- snapped his streak of consecutive makes at 22 ... 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 early-season efforts have proved he's much more than just a scorer. Through five games, he leads the Eagles in assists (4.4 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 four blocked shots this season.
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 30 of his 32 collegiate games, including all 20 games played in Conte Forum. The sophomore has registered 20 or more points 15 times (nine 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, his biggest fans -- if forced to choose -- might prefer to arrive at games late rather than leave early. Through five games, Bell is averaging 8.6 points on 41.9 percent shooting from the field in the first half, before raising his numbers to 12.4 points on 61.3 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
*** THE LAST TWO GAMES ***
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.
Boston College 71, Wofford 57 (Dec. 2, 2000): Sophomore guard Troy Bell tallied a game-high 20 points and freshman guard Ludmil Hadjisotirov scored 12 points to lead Boston College past Wofford. Kenny Walls and Xavier Singletary each added 11 points. Uka Agbai recorded eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Walls scored nine of the game's first 11 points. BC held Wofford scoreless until sophomore Lee Nixon's field goal with 15:04 remaining in the first half, making the score 11-2. Boston College took a 27-14 lead on a dunk by Walls, but the visiting Terriers answered with a 17-6 run to close the half and trim the BC margin to 33-31. Walls led BC with 11 first-half points. Singletary scored the first nine points of the second half for the Eagles, giving BC a 42-41 advantage with 9:39 left. BC used a 13-4 run over the next three minutes to gain a 55-45 lead with 6:36 remaining. BC increased its lead to 15 points - 63-48 - with 4:21 to play. Wofford never drew closer than 12 points in the closing minutes.
*** THE PLAYERS ***
#00 UKA AGBAI: Sophomore forward Uka Agbai is averaging 9.8 points per game through five games. He has scored in double figures in two contests, including a team-high 17 points against Brown. Agbai shot 5-for-7 from the field, and 7-for-9 from the foul line against the Bears. He also added four rebounds ... Agbai's 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 11 points in the win over Marist ... He contributed eight points and 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, and 20 against Wofford ... 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. 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. Most recently, he contributed four points and four rebounds in 14 minutes against Holy Cross. In his first three seasons, Beerbohm averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 87 games.
#5 RYAN SIDNEY: Freshman guard Ryan Sidney is averaging 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He 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. Most recently, he 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 14 games. He's played in three of the team's five games this season.
#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 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 ... Most recently, Harley fell just one points 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 about another month. 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 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He ranks second on the team -- behind Harley -- in rebounding ... Walls tallied 14 points and eight rebounds in the season opener against St. Peter's. Most recently, he registered 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals against Holy Cross ... Walls is the only member of the 2000-01 team who played in all 57 games over the past two seasons ... He has scored in double figures 31 times in 62 collegiate games.
Wasting No Time: Kenny Walls has scored 24 points in the Eagles' last two games -- 11 against Wofford and 13 against Holy Cross. 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.
#23 XAVIER SINGLETARY: Senior guard Xavier Singletary is averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Eagles. He tallied a season-high 19 points (7-for-13 FG, 4-for-7 treys) in the team's win over Holy Cross. He scored 15 of his 19 points in the opening half ... He 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 Eagles' 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., 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 three of the team's five 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 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 175-182. 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.
