Game Recap: Friars Hold Off Brown in OT to Win 77-72

On By The Morning HangoverIn Basketball Game Recaps, PC Men's Basketball

 

Providence Friars 77 (7-2)

Brown Bears 72 (4-5)

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The Providence Friars returned to the familiar confines of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence to get back on track against another in-state opponent in Brown, after losing for the first time in 8 years to Rhode Island.

What the Friars probably didn’t expect was to have to come back from a 15-point 2nd half deficit and need overtime to beat the Bears.  Rodney Bullock, Alpha Diallo, and Makai Ashton-Langford combined for 38 points in the 2nd frame to pull the Friars all the way back in what would have been a disastrous loss for PC.

Game Notes:

  • The Friars struggled mightily shooting the ball from just about everywhere in the game with shooting slashes of 39% FG/24% 3FG/67% FT.
  • After hurting himself against URI, Kyron Cartwright was on the bench to start the game and it looked like Cooley was trying to give him the game off against an inferior Brown team.  And I don’t want to toot my own horn…but, toot-toot.
  • Even though the Friars were down big to Brown, Cartwright probably still would have been held out for the entirety of the game if it weren’t for in-game injuries to both Alpha Diallo and Maliek White.
  • The Providence offense seemed lost and unsure about how to attack Brown without the straw that stirs the drink in Senior leader Kyron Cartwright.
  • Maliek White was playing his best game of the season before going down with an injury and got the 2nd half comeback started before he went down.  He just seemed to be playing at a higher energy level than the rest of the team.
  • White used his energy to swipe 4 steals and grab 5 rebounds while pushing the pace to the tune of 10 points on 4-9 shooting.
  • Makai Ashton-Langford saw his first action in the starting lineup filling in for Cartwright, and after some early turnover struggles (5) and a little indecisiveness, was able to attack the rim with the ferociousness that Friartown has become accustomed to.  I’ve been waiting so long to call a righty crafty and I think I’ve finally found my guy…
  • MAL filled up his stat line with 11 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal, and a block.
  • The Rodney Bullock that the Friars need to be a contender showed up.
  • Bullock scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds, while playing 43 minutes and carrying the offensive load for the team.
  • Bullock also had 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 assists in an all-around effort that the Friars desperately needed.
  • Bullock War Cries are one of my favorite things but after making a big dunk late in the game on a break, he gave me nothing.  I was so ready to get hyped and yell out watching the game and it was like he was taking a stroll in the park.
  • Let me know if you’ve heard this one before, Jalen Lindsey hit some threes.  Although he only went 3-9 from deep, he extended his made three point streak to 34 games, hitting multiple threes in 26 of those 34.
  • Jalen has seemed a little slow when moving laterally on defense ever since he started the year sitting out with a knee, but you know what can make up for that?  Effort.
  • Also, Jalen had a gigantic three down the stretch on an out of bounds play under Brown’s hoop which is predicted almost frame-by-frame by Vin Parise.  Pretty impressive if you ask me.
  • The Friars went small for the majority of the game as Nate Watson (9) and Kalif White (11) combined for only 20 minutes as a pair.
  • After being held scoreless int he first half, Alpha Diallo dropped 11 in the second frame to help the Friar get all the way back against in a resilient team effort.
  • I think I’ve finally gotten my head around MAL finishing on drives to the hoop no matter what it looks like when it leaves his hand because it goes in basically every single time.

Next Up, the Friars travel down to UMass to take on the Minutemen in a game in which they’re sure to be short-handed.