Game Recaps Archive

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BC Loss Roundup

By
dave@friarblog
– December 9th, 2010 8:52 AM

The Friars lost a tough one on Wednesday night in their first road test of the season. After falling behind early thanks to BC’s hot outside shooting, Providence trailed by double digits for most of the 2nd half. Around the 7 minute mark, the pace picked up and PC clawed back  – Marshon Brooks hit a few threes, the team rebounded well, and the Eagles were forced into some mistakes. BC was able to get some clutch plays by Reggie Jackson to hold onto their lead, but they left the door ever so slightly open when Joe Tripani missed a foul shot with 1 second left leaving Boston College up 2.  A miracle win was just inches away as Vincent Council’s half court desperation shot hit the backboard and the front of the rim. So unbelievably close to a great 10-1 start.

I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND IS THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO . . ..

Ok, now that I have my Steve Johnson Twitter rant out of me, I will say that it is encouraging that the young team fought back on the road and gave themselves a chance to win. Marshon continued to step up in key situations, the press was effective at times, and the rebounding was great. Now let’s work on those half court offensive sets against the zone and continue to shore up that transition defense! Baby steps.

Here are the headlines and links around the web.

Friars.com: Men’s Basketball Defeated At Boston College, 88-86

The Providence College Friars were defeated by Boston College, 88-86, on Wednesday, December 8 at Chestnut Hill, Mass. For the Friars it was their first road game of the season.

Projo.com: BC 88, PC 86: Friars’ determined comeback effort falls short

The Providence College point guard simply put his body into high gear, raced towards midcourt at Conte Forum and let fly a prayer. His 50-foot heave nearly went down. The shot pounded off the backboard a bit too hard, caught a lot of rim and then spun away at the buzzer, giving Boston College a hard-earned 88-86 win over the Friars.

Projo.com: Friars Journal: Narrow defeat hard to swallow

“Our inexperienced really showed. It’s showed the while year but we’ve been able to find ways to win,” he said. “Coming on the road for the first time, we saw some things that surprised us. But we learned from one half to the second, and I like our chances to become a good team, because on a night where the other team shoots 52 percent against you and 50 percent from three, and some guys have some off games, and yet it’s a one-basket game at the end.”

GoLocalProv: Friars Fall Short at Boston College 88-86

The Providence Friars had their first real road test of the season Wednesday night. And while PC did not ace the test, they didn’t fail it either. The Friars rally fell short in the end as they lost at Boston College 88-86.

ESPN (AP): Reggie Jackson helps BC build lead, hold off Providence

BC, which never trailed and was tied just once early in the game, held a 42-31 halftime lead. The Eagles saw a 15-point second half lead whittled to two with 90 seconds to play and again in the final minute.

Boston Herald: Eagles escape Friars

“I’m just past halfcourt at the other 3(-point) line watching and I’m like, ‘Oh, gosh. He got it off. There’s no way,’ ” Jackson said. “Then I turned my head, ‘Oh, my goodness, it looks like it’s going to go in.’ Fortunately it was going too fast and it hit the backboard and just rattled out.”

Boston.com: Lucky bounce for Eagles

“They got down by 15, it’s almost like that team is more dangerous, because they play with such reckless abandon,’’ said BC coach Steve Donahue. “It’s amazing how much confidence they play with. Then they start getting it going.

The Sun Chronicle: Friars’ rally fizzles

Not defending the three-point shot, nor shooting it very well either, the Providence College basketball Friars nearly erased a 15-point deficit – missing by the margin of a Vincent Council three-point shot from half court off the backboard and rim at the buzzer.

The Truth About PC Basketball: Friars Comeback Falls Literally Inches Short

Coming out of his hand, it didn’t look like it had a chance at all, which may have been a function of the shoddy BC camera work (seriously, AWFUL job by the cameraman as well as the BC radio commentators dubbed over the feed). When it reached the basket, though, it connected with the center of the backboard, hit the INSIDE of the rim, and popped out after a very long split second of hanging on the rim. Literally, a one inch difference in the trajectory of the ball, and the Friars would be walking away with win #10, a spot in SportsCenter’s top 10, and a whole lot of national publicity for the best kept secret in the Big East, VC.

The Cowl: Friars’ Rally Is Not Enough to Top BC Eagles

The good news is that the Providence College Basketball Team is off to their best start since the 1988-89 season. But the bad news is they lost a nailbiter to rival Boston College last night.

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2

Council Dishes, Brooks Swishes [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– December 7th, 2010 7:07 AM

For such an unappetizing piece of Brown Bear meat to go in between those two pieces of Rival bread, the Friars sure made it tasty. Making sure not to bask too long in the glorious victory against URI this past weekend while also not looking ahead to the important Boston College road game on Wednesday, the Providence Friars (9-1) surged past Brown 91-64. Marshon Brooks (career high 33 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals) and Vincent Council (19 points, career high 16 assists) picked up right where they left off on Saturday with two amazing performances.

Things didn’t start so smooth, with Brown leading early by as much as 8 by shooting the ball well from behind the arc. However, Brooks and Council proved to be the best players on the court, and Brown had no answer defensively. The win moves the team to 9-1, their best start since I was rocking old school Transformers in 2nd grade, and Homer Simpson was rocking his infamous Haig in ’88 t-shirt. While the start might not seem as impressive due to the schedule, you have to be impressed with the team’s effort so far this season, and also start to wonder what else the team is capable of given how phenomenal Marshon and VC have been playing.

Hit up the recap after the jump

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1

Friars Move to 8-1 [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– December 5th, 2010 10:42 AM

The Providence Friars went to 8-1 after beating URI 87-74, and looked damned impressive in doing so. Marshon Brooks and Vincent Council continue to put up great numbers as leaders of the team. After a schedule full of cupcake wins, it was great to see the team have their best performance of the year against their toughest opponent so far. Helping out the situation was a great fan turnout (on both sides). The confidence is growing, leaders are emerging, and the Friars just may be better than most people expected.

(Photo courtesy of ADonahue7 on Twitter)

Let’s get to the recap after the jump!

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Central Connecticut State Edges Marshon Brooks 20-17 in 2nd Half Contest [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– November 29th, 2010 10:20 PM

The Providence Friars improved to 6-1 on the year with an absolute 2nd half drubbing of Central Connecticut State (4-2) to a final score of 92-57 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Monday. Despite the many bright spots (Duke Mondy’s continued hot shooting, Gerard Coleman’s improving efficiency on the heels of his BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors, Dre Evans’ great minutes off the bench, Ron Giplaye’s Giplaye-ness, excellent foul shooting all around, and Ray Hall scoring 4 points and picking up 3 fouls in 5 minutes), Marshon Brooks unfortunately failed to outscore CCSU in the 2nd half. It was a close one though. With Brooks watching from the bench for most of the 2nd half, Central Connecticut squeaked by on a layup with just under four minutes to go to take a tense 18-17 lead. A nail-in-the-coffin putback layup by Terrell Allen two minutes later iced the half for the Blue Devils, and Marshon Brooks would simply not get a chance to fight back. Instead of inserting Brooks back into the game, Coach Keno Davis opted for the more crowd friendly approach and fielded several walk-ons at once in the final minutes. To each their own.

In all seriousness, it was definitely great to see Providence make adjustments after having an erratic first half on both ends of the court. The defense made numerous plays during the big run, and it helped open up the game on the other end of the court. Was Central Connecticut a great team? No, but they presented the Friars with a challenge after the first half, and the team responded with a blowout.

Image Courtesy of @RaySullivan via Twitter

Image Courtesy of @TheJFed via Twitter

Let’s get to the recap after the jump!

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The Friars are not the Defenders of the Universe [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– November 24th, 2010 9:03 AM

It’s going to be an up and down season. For the first half against La Salle in Cancun, it couldn’t be more down. All of the offensive problems the Friars have been having this season combined with the awakening zombie of last year’s defense to form a super team of invectiveness.  Let’s call it the anti-Voltron.  I mean, can that be any more fitting —  afterall Voltron was the DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE . And yes, I realize I just incredibly dated myself.

Despite digging themselves in a massive hole in the first half, the Friars found a way to claw back midway in the second  by forcing turnovers and taking advantage of La Salle’s strange sudden lack of aggressiveness. However, the evil arm piece of the super team of invectiveness, aka “Terrible Foul Shooting Force”, took over and made sure there would be no comeback.

It was obviously not the greatest showing for the young team’s first road game, but unfortunately there are going to be games like this all season. Let’s hope for a nice bounce back against Wyoming tonight.

Let’s hit up the recap after the jump.

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Double-Double Your Pleasure [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– November 21st, 2010 2:42 PM

The Providence Friars improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 1994-95 by defeating Prairie View A&M on Saturday night at THE DUNK. While it might be rather ho-hum for a team to do what it is supposed to and beat the lesser competition at home, there are some very good things to take away here. Sure, it’s easy to point to lower point totals allowed, but those numbers can be deceiving based on how fast a game is played. Here is a look at the points per possession allowed as compared to last season over the first four games.

2009-10

* Bryant: .72

* Bucknell: 1.02

* Mercer: 1.04

* Alabama: 1.17

This Year

* Dartmouth: .68

* Yale: .80

* Morgan State: .72

* Prairie View A&M: .90

The signs of defensive problems were there last year to start the season even though the team won (expect for Bama), so it’s great to see improvement. The key so far? No opponent has been able to get more than 40% FG% on 2-point shots.

(Photo courtesy of Aslom10 via Twitter)

Let’s hit up the usual after the jump.

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Providence Batts Around Morgan State [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– November 18th, 2010 10:45 PM

See what I did there? I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about writing a title like that since Kadeem signed his LOI two years ago. Anyways, the young Providence Friars went to 3-0 on Thursday night after beating a solid Morgan State team by a score of 77-55.

Last week Kevin over at FriarBasketball.net talked about the program needing tough competitors like John Linehan, Jamel Thomas, and Ryan Gomes. I saw this quote in the Projo game recap article, and immediately smiled.

“We had a sense of urgency and kept up the intensity. We wanted to blow that team out. That was our goal, just keep playing hard and turn up the score more and more,” said Batts.

If I had read that quote anywhere about the team over the last several years, I obviously didn’t believe it because it doesn’t sound even remotely familiar. After three games of great intensity and great results on defense, is it too early to say they are showing amazing improvement? Sure, the offense has some issues, and the Friars will be lucky to win another game shooting SIX POINT THREE PERCENT from downtown. As the competition increases, PC will surely start letting up more points and higher shooting percentages. For now, I don’t want to worry about that just yet. The most important takeaway is that the effort is there and the team is improving. Incredibly refreshing if you ask me.

(We need a BATTSMAN version of this logo)

Let’s hit up the usual recap features after the jump!

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Friars Make Plays Down the Stretch to Avoid Yale FALE [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– November 16th, 2010 7:53 AM

Don’t you hate those cold Saturday mornings in the winter when you come home with a deliciously hot cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, park your butt on the sofa, and go to flip on ESPN only to find out that some BIG-10 game is the only college basketball action? INDIANA-MICHIGAN?!? NOO PLEASE NOOOO! Well, Friar fans got a taste of that low scoring brand of basketball in PC’s extremely close call victory over Yale on Monday night. In a kind of game rarely seen at the DUNK over the last several years, Providence held on to win 58-55. Before everyone gets too excited about holding the opponent to a low score, there were flashbacks to last year’s defensive problems when Yale hit a boatload of uncontested threes to actually take the lead in the 2nd half. Thankfully, the defense rebounded down the stretch with the game on the line, and the offense found a way to be, you know, not completely stagnant and focused on dribbling extensively.

Duke Mondy, who didn’t have a particularly good shooting night overall, hit a big go-ahead jumper with a minute to go after a timeout. Marshon Brooks created a little more breathing room hitting 2 foul shots with :19 seconds left, and Yale failed to force OT with a missed three in the closing seconds.

FAIL WHALE AVERTED.

(Photo: deviantart.com)

Let’s take a closer look at the game after the jump!

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4

Cupcake a Perfect First Meal for Young Friars [Game Recaps]

By
dave@friarblog
– November 14th, 2010 11:31 AM

In Keno Davis’ first season two years ago, the Friars opened up the year with a tough home game against a scrappy Northeastern team. With a new coach and system, the experienced team struggled and lost a game that would haunt them come March. Last night, the young Friars opened up their season at the DUNK against one of the worst Division I teams in the nation. Brilliant scheduling this go around. The result was a complete blowout win that gave all the new players a chance to show what they can offer, and hopefully a confidence boost for the first week of games. Even though the Dartmouth offense was horrible, it was good to see Keno’s team come out with energy on defense (they played man-to-man most of the night). And, I know it’s way too early to tell, but Vincent Council and Gerard Coleman are going to be great together. Friars announcer John Rooke said it best himself during the broadcast after Coleman fed Council for a layup on a fast break – “It’s going to be fun watching those guys the next four years”.

Feels good to win a game again doesn’t it?

Oh and speaking of cupcakes, I was at Stop and Shop this morning and noticed that Hostess Cupcakes were on sale 10 for $10. Am I only the only one who prefers the weird Orange flavored kind to the regular chocolate? Sure, they may not be made of materials found on this earth, but I am drown to the orange and creme flavor. Anyhoo…

LETS TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT ‘THE FOUR FACTORS’

More on the Four Factors

  • Last season, the Friars held their opponent under an 80 offensive rating three times – St. John’s (?!), Vermont, and Bryant. Even Bryant was able to manage a 71.6 rating. Dartmouth’s was 67.5. Providence had a very good 113 offensive rating, a number they topped 12 times last year (6 in the BIG EAST, 6 out of conference).
  • If there was thing to not be happy with concerning the Friars play, it was definitely taking care of the ball – PC turned it a little more than 1/4 of their possessions. Even with the starters playing the bulk of the time in the first half, PC coughed it up 9 times. Fortunately for the Friars, Dartmouth couldn’t piss in the ocean and could only convert 20 total turnovers into 16 points. Six Providence players had at least 2 turnovers, but Marshon Brooks led the team with 4.
  • Providence did a great job at limiting Dartmouth’s second chance points. The Big Green produced a ton of misses, and the Friars were able to rebound % of them, leading to only 6 2nd chance points for Dartmouth. Bilal Dixon grabbed 10 defensive rebounds (11 overall) to lead all players. On the offensive glass, only Marshon Brooks and freshman Lee Goldsbrough had more than one offensive board (two each). Dartmouth forward Clive Weeden led the game with 5 offensive rebounds, but they couldn’t capitalize on most of the second efforts.
  • Dartmouth, you got beat pretty much in every statistical category, except free throw rate! Good job getting to the line I guess?

OTHER STAT NOTES

Possessions: 76

Efficiency Ratings

PC: 113

* 1st Half: 124

* 2nd Half: 105

Dartmouth: 67.6

* 1st Half: 56.7

* 2nd Half:  79.5

  • 14 Friars saw the court on Saturday, and 11 made it to the scoring column. Six of those 11 had their first points as a Friar
  • Walk-ons played a 13 total minutes, but did Xavier Davis, Chris Carter, and Mike Murray did not register any points.
  • For all the talk about concerns over shooting, the Friars sure did well from behind the arc. Vincent Council was 2-3, and six other players hit one apiece.

Let’s judge some performances by dishing out some pasta (from 1-4, 4 being awesome). My homage to the Star-Ledger.

Vincent Council – Controlled the pace of the game from the start.  Was the high scorer, even though he only played 75% of the game. After a badly missed forced three towards the end of the half, Council made up for it by nailing a buzzer beater right before the half.

Gerard Coleman – Right from the get go, Gerard made his presence felt.  He scored 7 quick points as the Friars raced out to a 13-3 lead that they would never look back on. Coleman also gets props for backing up Bryce Cotton when he took exception to a foul on his fellow freshman.  He got into some words with a random Dartmouth guy according to the radio broadcast. Love it.

Bryce Cotton – A dunk, a jumper, a three pointer, some steals. Really impressive debut. If not for Gerard Coleman, would have been one of the best scoring debuts for a Friar.

Bilal Dixon – Didn’t need him much offensively, but was a beast on the boards

Marshon Brooks – Despite getting 3 assists (woh!), Brooks pulled an 0fer in the first half. A scoring spurt of 7 points in 10 seconds (a four point play plus another quick 3 point play) gave him a respectable 13 for the 2nd half and game, but something was just off. Keno was not happy after an ill advised three at one point during the game — he called a timeout and pulled him out.

David Rufful – 0-8 from the field, including two misses from behind the arc.

OTHER PLAYER NOTES

The Channel Your Inner Greedy Peterson Award

Thankfully, this has something to do with an on court action. Kadeem Batts hit a surprise three pointer, and it brought back memories of Greedy in the initial stages last year before we knew he could consistently hit them. Goes up for a three – NOOOOOOOOOO – Basket – YEEEESSSS!!!! Batts must have taken copious notes while watching Peterson during his red shirt days last year. Let’s pray it was only on the offensive side.

BOX SCORES FOR THE STATS NERDS!

Friars.com Boxscore

Friars.com Gametracker

StatSheet.com Boxscore

AROUND THE INTERWEBS

Projo.com: PC 87, Dartmouth 52: This one was over early

The Friars jumped all over the Big Green from the opening tip and roared to an 87-52 win before 5,203 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The overmatched visitors are picked to finish last in the Ivy League this season and they very much looked the part. They missed 14 of their first 15 shots to fall behind 19-3 and never closed within a dozen points the rest of the way. PC led 46-21 at the half and built leads of as many as 41 points (83-42).

Projo.com: Plenty of playing time for youngsters

Davis said he’s not concerned about his substitution pattern at this early point of the season. Practices continue to be very competitive and he pointed out that Mondy, who’s battled hamstring woes, “is arguably good enough to start,” if he was healthy.

“I wouldn’t read a lot into our rotation right now,” said Davis. “It’s a learning process for me and for them.”

Friars.com: Friars Score Season-Opening Win Over Dartmouth, 87-52

The Friars were led by sophomore Guard Vincent Council (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who registered 18 points and five assists. He was followed closely by fellow guard Gerard Coleman (Boston, Mass.), who earned the start in his first career game and recorded 17 points. It marks the highest point total for a freshman starting the season opener in program history at Providence. Sophomore Bilal Dixon (Jersey City, N.J.) led the Friar rebounding effort, pulling down a game-high 11 boards.

DartmouthSports.com: Cold Shooting Plagues Big Green in Season-Opening Loss

While Providence ripped the nets at a 55.9 percent clip (33-of-59), its defense put the clamps down on the Big Green shooters, holding them to just 25.4 percent (16-of-63) overall and 15.0 percent from long range (3-of-20). The Friars also dominated the boards, 52-28, but Dartmouth did force 20 turnovers.

Friar Basketball: Freshmen Poised in Win over Dartmouth

A huge factor in the porous defensive numbers was the transition defense.  The long arms of Coleman and the quickness of Cotton will help this team’s pressure defense this season, but perhaps the biggest improvement these two could provide defensively is in their ability, and willingness, to recover.

WBRU News: Coleman shines as Friars win opener 87-52

Coleman, the prized freshman from Boston, Massachusetts, did not disappoint in his first night of regular season action. He shot 7 of 9 from the field, including a three-pointer, and had two assists and two steals as well. He started and played 27 minutes in the game, and Coach Davis was impressed with his progress.

Boring Ass AP Article: Providence 87, Dartmouth 52

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