Eagles putting things together

Skinner sees win as another step

BC's Reggie Jackson leaves Loyola defenders in his wake on this first-half dunk, an emphatic 2 of his 6 points on the night. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

There were times during Boston College's 90-57 win over Loyola in the preseason NIT last night at Conte Forum when Al Skinner looked to be coaching. Then others when he looked to be studying.

The BC coach would look at the players as if they were a science project, drawing imaginary lines in the air with his fingers, letting his body lean in the direction he thought the play should go, and hoping his players had the same thing in mind.

The Eagles were up by double digits after 10 minutes, a run sparked by Josh Southern and Corey Raji, and ghostwritten by Tyrese Rice, who was back in the lineup after a one-game suspension.

But two early fouls put Rice on the bench, and gave Skinner the rest of the half to see how his team would respond.

The Eagles, who face St. John's, which beat Cornell, 86-75, tonight, dominated the glass (46-30), found good shots (29 of 57 from the field), and forced Loyola into bad ones (22 of 63). Southern (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Raji (14 points, 9 rebounds) each nearly posted double-doubles.

But what Skinner was looking to see was how his players would communicate, how they would execute, how far along they were.

"We're trying to evolve and figure out what our roles are and what our strengths are," he said. "We have team fundamentals that we need to have both offensively and defensively. That's what I'm looking for."

The results didn't seem to matter as much.

A bailout 3-pointer by Rice got a poker face from the coach.

So did a pair of made-for-your-nightly-newscast dunks by freshman Reggie Jackson.

But a three by Tyler Roche got Skinner's hands in the air.

It's not necessarily that the Eagles do it, it's more about how they get it done.

"The process is clearly what it's all about right now," Skinner said. "My guys know before the game that this is about us. We're trying to develop who we're going to be, we're trying to figure out what our identity's going to be and what can we do to be successful."

Certain things are givens. For instance, Jackson can jump out of his sneakers.

But Skinner learned that now is not the time to put the freshman on the court with Evan Ravenel and Dallas Elmore, because they don't have the necessary experience.

It's also obvious that forward Joe Trapani can fit himself into the offense. He scored a game-high 20 points, hitting two 3-pointers and knocking down all six of his free throws.

"All the players know what their roles are," Trapani said. "I know my role is to rebound and cut and look for a post-up in the flow of the offense. Not particularly looking for offense for myself."

It's also a given that Rice can lead, but last night, Skinner didn't necessarily need him to.

"I can put almost anybody out there with Tyrese," Skinner said, "and he's going to make it right."

But when Rice (16 points, 6 assists) got frustrated after a turnover and ran into his second foul early, Skinner let his star point guard sit and used the time to examine different lineups.

Skinner wanted to look at the little things like taking charges and switching off screens, because they lead to bigger things.

At one point he heard players yelling out "screen" to let teammates know what was coming their way, only they didn't say whether it was coming from the right or the left.

Then late in the game, Skinner called a play he was sure his players knew, but they froze.

For Skinner, it's a matter of seeing what's in his head play out on the court. For the players, it's a matter of making memorized material second nature. Skinner is looking for the moment when it all clicks.

"That's what I'm studying," he said, "because I've got to know."

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com