Providence Friars (8-3) 87

Central Connecticut Blue Devils (5-6) 63

It was good to see that the Friars were able to respond nicely after suffering a gut-wrenching loss to UMass, a game that they led by 18 points at halftime.  With A.J. Reeves sidelined for the next 4 to 6 weeks with a foot injury, Maliek White found his way into the starting lineup.

White capitalized on the opportunity, leading the Friars with a career-high 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting and showed that he is more than capable to step up in the absence of the stud Freshman.  As a team, Providence was a scorching 11 of 23 from distance en route to running away with the game against the visiting Blue Devils.

And we’re back on track.

Game Notes:

• Maliek White was the star of the game, stepping up big time with his first start of the season.
• White was 7-9 from the floor, including 2-4 from deep to record a career-high 18 points.  Maliek also dished out 6 assists to just 1 turnover and took down 3 rebounds just for fun.
• Over his last 5 games, White has tallied 20 assists while turning the ball over just 4 times.  That’s a 5:1 assist to turnover ratio for those mathematicians at home.  Even with the uptick in minutes, all of his statistics except for turnovers are increasing as well.
• Alpha Diallo did what Alpha Diallo does.  He filled the stat sheet and was solid as a freaking rock.  Diallo finished with 16 points (5-11), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.  That’s just what he does.

And 1! pic.twitter.com/poV0QIS1dg

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) December 16, 2018

• Jimmy Nichols Jr. tied his career-high with 7 points for the third time this season but set new career-highs with a game-high 9 rebounds and 4 assists.  He is just scratching the surface for what he can become as a player.
• David Duke did a little bit of everything, playing just 24 minutes with the big lead.  Duke had 6 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and a partridge in a pear tree.
• Kalif Young had a pretty good all-around game and showed off his great hands on a perfect roll to the hoop from Maliek White.

Danger Zone!

When Kalif comes through, just get out the way! pic.twitter.com/WFKyvLbY4K

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) December 16, 2018 

• The Bench Bash Brothers, Nate Watson and Isaiah Jackson continued to pour in points from the pine, combing for 30 points.
• Watson 6-8 from the floor for 14 points.
• Jackson did most of his damage from the line, going a perfect 7-7 from the stripe on his way to 16 points of his own.
• Don’t look now but Makai Ashton-Langford is starting to put it together.  After having some trouble with turning the ball over, especially away from the hoop, MAL registered 5 assists without turning the ball over once.  What was the other knock on him so far this season?  Oh, three-point shooting?  Well he went 2-2 from three.  Even with his struggles offensively from early in the season, Makai has turned it on defensively this season with his on-the-ball defense.  He got 2 swipes to go along with his effective offensive night.
• I’ve always been #TeamMAL and it looks like he’s going to get more and more comfortable with his increase in minutes with Reeves out.  I’m here for this.

Next Up, the Friars stay at The Dunk and take on the visiting Albany Great Danes on Tuesday at 7 PM on FSN.