Game Recap: PC Friars Explode in the 2nd Half to Dismantle Albany, 73-43

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

Providence Friars (9-3) 73

Albany Great Danes (3-9) 43

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What a difference a half of basketball can make.  After a legitimate rock fight in the first half that saw the Providence Friars shot 21% from the field and somehow still in a position to take a 3 point lead into halftime 23-20, the Friars came charging out full steam to score 50 2nd half points en route to a 30-point victory.

For as bad as PC played in the 1st half, they played that well in the 2nd half.  I don’t want to put too much stock into a win against this rebuilding Albany team that sports 6 Freshman and 9 newcomers to the team, but showed just how well they can put everything together when they run the floor, make food decisions, and turn up the intensity on the defensive end.  The Great Danes didn’t have a single player score in double figures.

Game Notes:

  • Alpha Diallo did what your best player should do.
  • Diallo scored a game-high 20 points and took down a game-high 10 rebounds en route to his 4th double-double of the season and first since he led of the year with 3 straight.  That now makes it 10 double-doubles for Diallo in his career at Providence.

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  • Alpha went 6-12 from the field and 7-8 from the line.  He is now climbed over the 70% mark from the free throw line for the season after a rough start from the charity stripe to start things off on the year.  He needs to at least be at that clip as he is the go-to option for the Friars down the stretch and will be called on to make big free throws in big games pretty soon.
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  • Diallo also led the team with 3 steals.
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  • And for those checking in, Alpha still leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.

     

  • Maliek made it two games in a row in the starting lineup and proved once again why Cooley made the right decision in turning to him to fill in for Reeves while he’s out with a foot injury.  I personally think that White might have eventually found his way into the starting lineup anyway based on how he had been playing but this just affirms my initial thoughts.
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  • Let’s stat it up real quick for Maliek.  White went 4-8 from the field, 3-5 from three, 5-6 from the line, tallied 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals…all while playing the most minutes on the team by 6 more minutes than the next closest player.

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  • White’s shooting from deep has been especially appreciated with Reeves out of the lineup.  I said it last year at the beginning of the season before White had to deal with injury issues, I thought he could make the same kind of jump that Alpha did.  He was initially starting at a lower point just because of playing time but I thought the same sizable jump was achievable for White.  You always see that big jump from the Freshman to Sophomore season.
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  • Maliek and Alpha were the only two players to score in double figures for Providence but every other player who saw action was able to score a point.  For those of you counting at home, that’s 11 different players who scored for the Friars.  That, my friends, is what they call depth.
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  • Makai looked just about as comfortable as I’ve seen him all season.  He was pushing the pace, taking it hard to the rim, and scanning the entire floor for open teammates when looking for the break.

     

  • MAL was 3-6 for 7 points, added a team-high 5 assists, and grabbed 3 rebounds.  Makai thrives in the open court and a free-flowing offense and I think that him and White complement each other better on the floor at the same time than Duke and MAL do, just because of their different skill sets.
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  • MAL still has to watch those turnovers though, committing a team-high 3 in the game.
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  • Kalif did everything right on both ends of the floor and his hustle was noticeable throughout the game.
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  • I keep forgetting just how long Jimmy is because he’s so thin.  He a block where he just extended his arms up like Inspector Gadget and they basically reached the ceiling of The Dunk.

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  • David Duke got into some early foul trouble but was missing shots early on that he would normally make.  From wide open threes to semi-contested lay-ups, nothing seemed to be falling for the Freshman point guard.  They were all good looks though, so no worries from my point of view.
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  • It was nice to see Kris Monroe get some extended time and a bucket.
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  • For the first time in a long time, the two super-subs, Isaiah Jackson and Nate Watson both had off games.  The combined to go 2-10 from the floor with 5 turnovers.  Nate has to be more aware of when double-teams are coming and think about where the open guy is going to be if one comes.  He gets caught in no-man’s land down below a little too often for my liking.
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  • Drew Edwards continues to see an increase in minutes with him and Maliek dividing Reeves’ floor time between them.
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  • Andrew. Fonts.
  • The lone member of The Death Lineup this year had no hesitation in taking that rock to the hole and finishing for the last bucket of the evening.  He tried for the heat check immediately after but someone must have left a door open because he was juuuuust a little bit long on the second attempt.

Next Up, the Friars travel down to Austin, Texas to take on the Longhorns on Friday at 9 PM on ESPN2.

One thought on “Game Recap: PC Friars Explode in the 2nd Half to Dismantle Albany, 73-43”

  1. Pingback: 2018-2019 Schedule | The Morning Hangover

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