Press Release

SMC MEN TO VISIT BOSTON COLLEGE IN EXHIBITION GAME Nov. 13 contest at Conte Forum marks first game between New England foes since 1982   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      FOR MORE INFORMATION October 4, 2005                                                                         Contact: Seth Cole                                                                                                 Phone: (802) 654-2537 COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael’s College men’s basketball team will receive a stiff test before opening the 2005-06 regular season, as the Purple Knights will visit national-power Boston College at Conte Forum in an exhibition contest on Sunday, November 13 at 7 p.m. The game versus the Eagles marks Saint Michael’s second and final exhibition game this fall against an NCAA Division I opponent. The Purple Knights also will play crosstown-rival University of Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium on Saturday, November 5 at 1 p.m. “We are thrilled to have the chance to play Boston College and an Atlantic Coast Conference institution,” said Saint Michael’s ninth-year head coach Tom O’Shea. “Our players and program will get the exposure of playing a top-20 team before we start our regular season. The players are excited about this opportunity, and hope that our alumni in the Boston area will come out to cheer on the Purple Knights.” Boston College, which moves from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, is led by ninth-year head coach Al Skinner. The Eagles feature a pair of candidates for the 2005-06 John R. Wooden Preseason All-American Team in senior Craig Smith and junior Jared Dudley, and are coming off of a 25-5 campaign in 2004-05. Pat Duquette, currently in his fifth year as an assistant coach for Boston College, spent the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Michael’s with Tom O’Shea, and earned his master’s degree while in Colchester. Saint Michael’s and Boston College last squared off on November 28, 1982, when the Eagles defeated the Purple Knights in Chestnut Hill, 98-56. That Boston College team featured Tim O’Shea, the older brother of Saint Michael’s head coach Tom O’Shea. The Purple Knights are 1-5 all-time versus the Eagles, with Saint Michael’s lone win a 56-48 home victory on December 17, 1949.   The Purple Knights, captained this season by seniors BJ Robertson (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) and Aaron Spaulding (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth), also play four games against Canadian universities in a five-day span beginning on Friday at 8 p.m. at Bishop’s University. Saint Michael’s opens its regular season on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. versus the New Jersey Institute of Technology at the West Chester (Pa.) University Tournament, and plays its home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. against Saint Thomas Aquinas College at the Ross Sports Center. ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002