O’Shea

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Even before the game began, it was obvious last night was an unusual night for Al Skinner and Tim O’Shea.

Here it was, less than five minutes before the start of the first Boston College-Bryant University basketball game at Conte Forum, and there were the two coaches talking and laughing with each other. The two stood near the Bryant bench and chatted for an extended period, like old friends.

For O’Shea, the Bryant coach, that’s not a surprise. He will talk with anyone at any time. For Skinner, it was out of character. The BC coach is quiet — never more than before a game. On this night, though, the change was understandable. Skinner really was talking to an old friend.

He and O’Shea coached together for 13 years, nine at the University of Rhode Island and four at BC. Even on a night when they were preparing to go against each other, they did not forget their friendship.

“I was joking with Al, telling him, ‘Now understand, Al, you don’t get a bonus for margin of victory. There’s no financial incentive here. It’s not the BCS,’ ” O’Shea said after the game.

Skinner took it in the spirit in which it was intended.

“Your former assistants can make you laugh,” he said. “He was trying to tell me to take it easy on them. Then they come back firing threes.”

BC (7-2) did what was expected, beating the Bulldogs, 80-61. But Bryant acquitted itself well. The Bulldogs fell behind by as many as 33 points early in the second half, then fought back behind the scoring of Cecil Gresham (19 points) and got as close as 65-54 with 6:33 left.

“They made me do something different than I wanted to,” said Skinner, who had to play his regulars longer than he wanted because of Bryant’s comeback. “They didn’t quit. That’s the most important thing you want from a team. When a coach can get that from his guys, then he’s doing a creditable job.”

O’Shea was happy with his team, now 1-7 in its first year in Division I.

“They should take a lot of pride in the fact they scored 41 points against an ACC team in the second half,” he said. “This is an enormous jump these kids are taking. I’m really proud of the effort. I thought it was by far the best we’ve played.”

The night was a homecoming for O’Shea. He played for BC from 1980-84, and was the point guard on teams that won two Big East regular-season titles, qualified for the postseason four times and twice reached the NCAA’s Sweet 16. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at BC. He thanked Skinner and BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo for agreeing to play Bryant.

“Games like this are so important for Bryant. They validate us as a Division I program,” O’Shea said. “Connecticut, BC and Providence are the three regional powers in college basketball. We’re playing all three.”

Bryant will play BC and PC again next year.

“We’d like to get URI on the schedule,” O’Shea said. “That would be important for us.”

The O’Shea-Skinner reunion was not the night’s only aspect with a Rhode Island touch. Two of Skinner’s assistants, Bonzie Colson and Preston Murphy, are former URI players who spent time renewing acquaintances with Rhode Islanders who made the trip to the game.

Sophomore forward Rakim Sanders of Pawtucket led BC with 19 points, including four 3-pointers and two dunks. Bryant started two Rhode Islanders — Scituate’s Chris Birrell and Portsmouth’s Andrew Lyell. Lyell had a 3-pointer 2:55 into the game. When Birrell scored from in close with 4:10 gone, Bryant led, 12-10.

Sanders, Corey Raji (15 points) and Tyrese Rice (10 points, 7 assists, 4 steals) got BC going.

pkenyon@projo.com