Providence Friars 79 (4-0)

Green Bay Phoenix 65 (1-3)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The Providence Friars started off the first half playing sloppily, letting Green Bay control the tempo of the game and once again needed a strong effort from the bench in order to pull away for a win in the second stanza after going into halftime tied up at 36 apiece. Jayden Pierre makes it two games in a row being the unquestioned floor leader on the court for the Friars and consistently making big plays whenever called upon. Pierre led the team in scoring once again, putting up 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Corey Floyd Jr. and Rich Barron continued their respective shooting turnarounds both hitting on 2-of-4 from three-point range. Ryan Mela and Eli DeLaurier showed that they belong on the floor, giving tremendous minutes in relief. Both players are noticeably improving on a game-to-game basis at this point.

Game Notes:

• Let’s start with Jayden Pierre for the second game in a row.
• Pierre led the team in scoring with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three. Pierre chipped in 3 assists and a block without turning the ball over a single time.
• Over the last two games, Jayden is averaging 15.5 ppg while shooting 66.7% from the floor (12/18) and 63.7% from three-point land (7/11). He has also handed out 7 assists with nary a single turnover in 63 minutes of action. And throw in 2 steals and a block for good measure.
• Jayden is showing the next step that he looked to be nearing at the end of last season and is starting to let it fly with confidence on the offensive end.
• Christ Essandoko got the start at Center and probably had his most productive game as a Friar so far this season. When he gets the ball in the post, he is effective against the out-manned competition down low as long as he doesn’t hold onto the ball too long before making his moves to the basket.
• Essandoko shot 3-of-5 from the floor for 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, including 2 offensive. Christ did turn the ball over twice more with one assist. On the fresh season, Christ has turned the ball over 15 times to just 5 assists, a 3:1 turnover to assist ratio. That HAS to improve.
• Wesley Cardet Jr. had a forgettable game from an offensive standpoint, shooting 1-for-9 but did get to the free throw line a number of times, shooting 6-for-11 from the stripe. Cardet shot 73.8%, 81.3%, and 71.9% from the line in his first three seasons so I fully expect him to improve on his 43.8% shooting through his first four games.
• Cardet continues to show off his rebounding skills, snagging a team-high 7 and is currently rebounding at a career-high 6.5 rpg clip. He has led the Friars in rebounding in 3 out of his first 4 games in Friartown.
• Bensley Joseph sneakily fills up the stat sheet without you even realizing it. Joseph had 7 points, a team-high 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. A true veteran leader in every sense.
• Oswin had his third perfect shooting performance of the season (2-for-2) and is now shooting an absurd 87.5% from the field (7-for-8). Yeah, he’s only shooting two times a game but it’s still pretty cool.
• Ryan Mela is a fucking gamer. I love watching this dude play. Mela was 3-for-7 from the field for 8 points, to go along 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal. All of this was in only 13 minutes.
• Rich Barron continues to get more comfortable with his shot after working his way back from injury. Barron hit 2-of-4 from three and is now 4-for-7 from three in his last two games after starting the year 0-for-4.
• Barron also had a career-high 5 rebounds and tied his career-high with 2 steals that he did twice last year in the Big East Tournament against both Georgetown and Creighton.
• Eli DeLaurier was solid once again, providing a spark off the bench. Now he’s got to convert that into some buckets on top of those hustle plays and we’ll really be onto something.
• Yet again, the Friars couldn’t connect on free throws, shooting 57.1% on 28 attempts. They did however, curb their turnover issues (at least for one game), committing just 6 in comparison to 14 assists.
• Marcus Hall on Green Bay is a really good player. He led the Phoenix with 19 points on 8-12 shooting (3-for-6 from three) to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
• It was good to see Donovan Santoro again, even if he only got limited run.
• I still hate Doug Gottlieb. Him and Isaiah Miranda are a match made in…well, not Heaven.
• Post Game Press Conference…

Next Up, the Friars close out their 5-game home stand against Delaware State at 7 PM on Tuesday on FS2.