Providence Friars (3-1) 76

South Carolina Gamecocks (2-2) 67

In the first game of the semifinals of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off, the Providence Friars were able to show some great resilience and come back from an 8-point halftime deficit to defeat South Carolina at Mohegan Sun.

With a 10-0 run at the beginning of the 2nd half, the Friars were able to take control of the game and get the pro-Friar crowd of “Friartown South” behind them en route to a 76-67 victory.

Jimmy Nichols Jr. got the start and for the first time this year, Ed Cooley featured three Freshmen in his starting lineup.  The three frosh (Nichols, Duke, & Reeves) were able to combined for 34 points and all played significant parts in the Friars overcoming their first half shortcomings.

Game Notes: 

• • David Duke Jr., welcome to Friartown.
  • Duke had easily his best game of the season, attacking the rim with aggression and hitting shots from all three levels.

Clear For Takeoff ✈️ pic.twitter.com/wDwvBvrhV7

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) November 18, 2018

• Duke had a team-high, game-high, and career-high 20 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor, including 2-4 from deep.  His made three at the end of the first half was huge for the momentum for the team going into the 2nd frame.
• Alpha Diallo continues to show everyone exactly why he was chosen as a First Team All-Big East selection.
• Although Diallo failed to record a double-double for the first time this season, he came up just short of a triple-double instead.  Diallo dropped a stat line of 17 points, a team-high 9 rebounds, a team-high 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block.
• Quick check in on my prediction that Diallo will lead the team in points, rebounds, and assists this season.
  • 19.5 ppg (1st)
  • 10.0 rpg (1st)
  • 5.0 apg (1st)
• The best part of Diallo’s all-around fantastic performance was that he shot 7-9 from the line after struggling for the beginning of the season.  Hopefully this turns around his early season struggles from the stripe.
• A.J. Reeves got back into double-figures with 10 points after pouring in 8 of those points in the 10-0 run at the beginning of the 2nd half for the Friars.
• Reeves was only 2-7 from the floor but he was fortunately 5-5 from the free throw line to make up for it a little bit.
• In Jimmy Nichols Jr.’s first start of the season, the lanky Freshman got into some early foul trouble and although his stats won’t jump out at you from the game, he did a lot of little things to help the team throughout the game.  His length was able to adjust a lot of shots of South Carolina but there was one play that did a more than just a “little thing”…

Loot at him S T R E T C H #GoFriars pic.twitter.com/0BD1jfeaf7

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) November 18, 2018 

• I like those grey jerseys, those babies are slick as hell.

• Although this was the first game that Isaiah Jackson came off the bench, he did his usual stat-filling thang anyway.  Jackson recorded 9 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist while playing starters minutes (30) anyway.
• Jackson is the perfect teammate that every good team needs and a guy that is willing to do everything that the team needs him to do to win.  He is such a benefit for the Friars to have on their squad.
• Emmitt Holt didn’t record a single stat in 7 minutes but just the fact that his minutes are going up is incredibly encouraging to see.
• Makai Ashton-Langford took a little time to get going (it has to be hard to get in a rhythm when his minutes are a little all over the place) but looked like good when he was able to get to the hole within the flow of the offense.

We #PCBB need more of this!!!! @makaiashton11 pic.twitter.com/YBueBQCxIa

— Chief (@onestocome) November 19, 2018

• I think MAL and Maliek bring different offensive things to the table and can both flourish in this offense, even on the floor at the same time with MAL at the point and Maliek at the 2.
• Nate Watson seemed a little off with the shots off his post moves, at times maybe forcing his offense a little too much and rimming out some otherwise makeable shots, but he was money from the line (5-6) and continues to rebound much better this year, grabbing 8 rebounds on the day.
• That is the sign of growth in a collegiate player.  When your offense isn’t quite there one game for one reason or another but you can make up for it in other ways on the court.
• Some pics from the game…

Next Up, the Friars take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Tip-Off Championship on Sunday at 1:30 PM on ESPN.