Providence Friars (11-6) 72

Seton Hall Pirates (12-6) 63

Finally some things went right down the stretch for the Friars as they pulled out their first Big East Conference victory of the season against the visiting Seton Hall Pirates.  David Duke led the Friars with a career-high 18 points, helping the Friars break a three-game losing streak since beginning Big East play on New Year’s Eve.

There were two main things that led to the Friars getting the win and they were both centered around their defense.  On the individual defensive side, the Friars held leading scorer Myles Powell to just 12 points on 4-15 shooting from the floor.  The 12 points were Powell’s second lowest scoring output of the season.  As for team defense, Providence forced the Pirates into a season-high 22 turnovers.

Game Notes: 

• David Duke showed everyone why he was ranked so highly in the 2018 class rankings coming into the season.  Duke showed off all aspects of his game, pouring in a career-high 18 points, and needing only 7 shots to get there (4-7).
• Duke showed he could shoot the three, going a perfect 3-3.
• Duke showed that when he gets to the line, he can sink them, going 7-8.
• Duke also chipped in 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal for good measure.

Heating up 🔥🔥🔥 #GoFriars pic.twitter.com/2izOCv5MWD

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) January 16, 2019

• Alpha Diallo had a classic Alpha Diallo game.
• Diallo was the only other player besides Duke to score in double-figures with 15.  Alpha also led the team in rebounds (8) and assists (5).
• Diallo was a little turnover prone, coughing up the rock 5 times in the game and was just 3-6 from the line, but I’m not looking to get on top of anybody after the Friars first Conference win of the season.

No. 1️⃣1️⃣ #GoFriars pic.twitter.com/FnROQV3Ky6

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) January 16, 2019 

• Jimmy Nichols Jr. finished his second game with a goose egg after playing limited minutes in his starting role.
• Nate Watson’s shots weren’t falling tonight as he went 3-10 from the field.  This game was a throwback Big East rock fight and the Friars showed why they’re suited to pull up their bootstraps in contests like this one.  Watson finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds.
• The other half of the big guy duo, Kalif Young, played one of his best games since he began coming off the bench.
• Young had 6 points, 6 rebounds, a steal, and a block in a stat-packed 15 minutes.  And it’s always nice to hear this from you coach after the game too…

• Even though Makai’s scoring has fallen off lately, his assist numbers have risen to make up for his lack of buckets.  MAL finished tied with Diallo for the team-lead with 5 assists after recording 8 against Georgetown.  Over the last two games, Makai has 13 assists to just 2 turnovers.  That’s how you run point.  The buckets will come.
• I was expecting for Drew Edwards to get more than 8 minutes of playing time after playing so damn well against the Hoyas in the previous game.
• Kris Monroe may be carving himself out a little role in the rotation, seeing some action for his third game in a row.
• Maliek White’s offensive struggles continued to at least one more game, but let’s cross our fingers that this is the last one.
• Same for Isaiah Jackson.
• The two combined to go 4-16 from the floor.
• I’ve seen a couple Seton Hall games this year and I was impressed with how Cooley and the guys were able to keep Powell in check throughout this game.  I thought there would at least be a small stretch where he went bonkers but it never happened.  Instead, he pulled a punk move and tried to throw an elbow at Duke near the the end of the game…but Diallo wasn’t having it.

@UndercoverFriar .. Powell came is an uppercut elbow pic.twitter.com/3MBXvFlppr

— Paul Rodrigues (@hatedayankees73) January 16, 2019

• Last but not least, how could Nate not get the vote for best in the winning photo in this one?

Up Next the Friars travel to Marquette to take on the ranked Golden Eagles.