Providence Friars 85 (6-1)
St. Peter’s Peacocks 71 (1-3)
Noah Horchler put together his single best game as a Friar en route to helping Providence start off their five game home stand with a win over the visiting Peacocks of St. Peter’s. Horchler was nearly perfect from the field, going 9 for 10, totaling his highest point total (25) since coming to Friartown. He also added 11 rebounds and 5 assists to round out a complete overall performance leading the Frairs to victory.
The Friars shot the ball extremely well in all facets of the game, finishing by going 64.1% from the field, 46.2% from three, and 93.5% from the foul line. Providence had three other players finish in double-figures with Nate Watson (23), A.J. Reeves (12), and Al Durham (11) rounding out the scoring.
Game Notes:
- Boy, Oh, Boy, Noah Horchler.
- Horchler notched his 3rd double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds, after only doing so once all of last season. His 25 points were a Friar career-high, as were his 9 made field goals in just 10 attempts.
- Noah hit 3 three-pointers for the second time this season and has now made 12 of his 25 three-point attempts on the season, good for 48.0%. The fact that he’s making them at the highest clip of his career and also shooting them more as well (3.6 attempts per game) is amazing.
- Let’s not forget his 5 assists, another career-high for Bjorn Lothbrok. He has now dished out 3 or more assists in 4 of the 7 games this season. His 18 assists on the season are already more than his entire assist total from last season (14).
- He added a block just for fun.
- Horchler was able to over-shadow another great performance from Nate Watson as the two combined for 48 points (17/22), 17 rebounds, 6 assists (1 TO), & 3 blocks together.
- Watson shot 8/12 from the floor, scoring 23 points, and has now scored 20+ in 3 of the 7 games on the season.
- The most welcome sight from Big Nate was going 7-7 from the line after starting the year a little shaky on his free throws. If he can consistently make teams pay from the line, then there is literally no way to stop him from scoring. The inside/outside combination of Horchler and Watson was on full display for this game and shows just how lethal the two of them can be when they’re both clicking.
- A.J. Reeves was back in the starting lineup as it was Justin Minaya’s turn to be hit with the sickness bug. Brycen Goodine was also out for the game with an illness.
- Reeves started a new three-point streak, going 2/4 from deep for 12 points.
- Jared Bynum went down early in the game with an injury and wasn’t able to return. So it was up to the group to pick up the passing duties with their lead guard out. Reeves & Al Durham each handed out 3 assists in Bynum’s absence after Bynum was able to collect 3 of his own in just 7 minutes of action.
- Al Durham only shot the ball 3 times but was still able to reach double figures by routinely getting to the line once again. Durham was a perfect 9/9 and is now averaging 6.6 FTA per game while hitting them at a career-best mark of 82.6%.
- Alyn Breed racked up a season-high 30 minutes on the floor with both Bynum and Goodine out for the majority of the game. Breed had a pair of steals and was a perfect 4/4 from the line.
- Let’s just talk about the Friars free throw shooting in this game for a second. The Friars connected on 29/31, good for 93.5%. Here’s the list of how well they shot individually.
- Al Durham – 9/9
- Nate Watson 7/7
- Noah Horchler – 4/4
- A.J. Reeves – 4/4
- Ed Croswell – 1/2
- Matteus Case – 0/1
- I’ll give Matteus a pass because his driving bucket upon immediately entering the game was thing a beauty. His free throw attempt on the other hand, was a laser beam straight at the rim.
- Crowswell played, what I believe, was his best game so far this year. Ed finished with season-highs in both points (5) and rebounds (6) in just 9 minutes. He was very impactful every second he was on the court, it’s just that Noah and Nate were both playing at an elite level for the entire game.
- A big congrats goes out to Ed Cooley on his 200th victory at Providence!
- St. Peter’s, who I somehow forgot were named the Peacocks, kept the game close early into the 2nd half and were led by Daryl Banks III, who filled it up with a career-high 26 points.
- The Peacocks were able to limit their turnovers (9) but the duo of Horchler & Watson were too much for their frontcourt to handle.
Next Up, the Friars continue their home stand at The Dunk on Wednesday at 8:30 PM against visiting Texas Tech. TT is 6-0 but their competition has been abysmal thus far with Kenpom rankings of 244, 261, 289, 328, 329, & 355. The game will air on FS1.
The Morning Hangover 