Providence was without Kris Dunn for the second straight game even though the All-American practiced a bit during the exam break. Ed Cooley said he is hoping to get Dunn back for the UMass game, but the way this has gone it will likely be a game-time decision Monday night.
Ben Bentil got off to a good start and led the Friars in scoring. Bentil was fed early and often in the first half and was seeing his jump shots fall. He didn’t have as much success from outside in the second half and was poor from the free throw line but he did enough and was the team’s leader again with Dunn sidelined. Bentil was one of 3 Friars to have a double-double in this game.
Rodney Bullock was another double-double man for Cooley against Rider. Bullock didn’t have a flashy game and he didn’t make any overly spectacular plays, but the redshirt sophomore was solid and played hard on both ends. His man-to-man defense left something to be desired, but he scored 16 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and played 38 minutes.
Jalen Lindsey had his first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds on the night. Lindsey’s streaky shooting was on display in this game as he scored 9 of his 13 points on 3 straight made 3-pointers to open the second half before going very cold from beyond the arc.
Kyron Cartwright played a solid game in place of Dunn and made some nice plays going to the rim. Cartwright still overdribbles and takes too many quick shots for my liking, but with Dunn out he is who will be tasked with leading the offense as the point guard.
Drew Edwards followed up his breakout game last Saturday against Bryant with another solid game. Edwards got 17 minutes and didn’t light up the stat sheet this time, but the freshman made good defensive plays and moved the ball well on offense.
The free throw shooting was ugly for Providence. The Friars missed a few front ends of 1 and 1’s and finished the game 11/17 from the charity stripe.
There were some lulls during the game where Providence lacked defensive intensity and the game devolved into what Friar fans with painfully remember as “Keno-ball”. This could be one of the biggest areas that Cooley misses Dunn on the floor. The Friars can’t afford to have these lapses in Big East play.
The 11-1 and 14th ranked Friars return to action Monday night on the road against UMass to close out the non-conference schedule. That game tips at 7pm EST and is on CBSSN.
Episode 3 of the pcbb1917.com Friartown Fan Voice podcast is live. In this episode I recap the first 11 games of Providence’s non-conference schedule, preview the final 2 games and give some thoughts on the announcement made on December 15th about the Ruane Friar Development Center.
This should be available in iTunes so you can subscribe and be automatically notified when a new episode is uploaded in the future. I’m planning on doing one more podcast in 2015 to preview the Big East schedule, so keep an eye out for that between Christmas and New Years.
You can submit your own questions and comments that could be answered on a future podcast by calling the Friartown Fan Voice podcast voicemail line at 516-500-PCBB or 516-500-7222, emailing me at mhopkins@pcbb1917.com, tweeting at me @pcbb1917, commenting on the Facebook page or directly in the comments section of this post.
Drew Edwards didn’t average 30 points/game in high school. He didn’t leave the Baltimore area to attend a basketball-factory prep school. He didn’t run on the Nike EYBL, adidas Gauntlet or Under Armour Association circuits. He went to the same all-boys Catholic high school that his father, uncle and brother attended. He played with a non-shoe company affiliated AAU program coached by the same people who coached him in youth leagues growing up. He is loyal. He is competitive. He plays to win.
This Thoughts from the Road: Couch Edition is brought to you by the 5J Christmas party and is powered by the deep reflection during an all-Latin Christmas concert at the Cloisters. Special shoutout to my dad because Joe R said so.
Ben Bentil did his best Willis Reed impression, albeit in a less grand manner. Bentil being available in the first place made it clear the ankle injury he suffered on Wednesday against Boston College was, as it looked on TV, a standard basketball ankle roll. The fact that he was able to put on his cape with 5:15 left in the first half with his team trailing 2-8 Bryant by 9 means he would have started this game if Ed Cooley needed him to. Since he went on to play the final 5:15 of the first half and the beginning 19:43 of the second half, Bentil showed he is a tough dude. The other thing he showed is that he is a true team leader. With Kris Dunn in sweats on the bench due to illness and his young teammates struggling with a team Vegas decided was a 21 point underdog at the line’s open, Bentil’s mere presence in the game was the calming factor that players like Bryce Cotton, LaDontae Henton and Dunn developed into. Bentil only scored 2 points in the first half — a jumper he made right after entering the game — but it was clear the tide was turning back in Providence’s favor. The Friars finished that 5:15 stretch on a 9-4 run to close the half down just 4 points after being down by 11 — Bryant’s largest lead of the game — with 5:39 left.
Providence was without Kris Dunn and Ryan Fazekas for this game and Ben Bentil started the game off as questionable but dressed. Ed Cooley was hoping now to use the big man but that all changed with the Friars looking sluggish. Cooley inserted Bentil with 5:15 left in the first half and the sophomore played every second the rest of the way until the final few seconds of the game. He finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes.
Drew Edwards had a breakout effort in the second half. Edwards started the game 0/2 but got hot and went off for 17 points on 6/10 shooting, including 5/9 from 3-point range. Edwards came into this game averaging under 7 minutes/game and 1.1 points/game.
Rodney Bullock had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Bullock got better once Bentil entered the fray, but he didn’t do much scoring in the second half. He did a good job cleaning the glass though. Providence outrebounded Bryant,
Jalen Lindsey got off to a horrendous shooting start but he managed to get it going and finished with 15 points on 5/12 shooting. Lindsey was active on the glass with 7 rebounds.
The key for Providence — aside from Bentil being able to give it a go — was balance on offense. Four Providence players scored in double figures. It was also a tale of two halves for the Friars. Cooley’s crew shot just 35.3% from the field, including 1/14 from 3-point range in the first half. The second half numbers look a lot better: 53.8 % and 7/14 from downtown.
Bryant hurt themselves in the second half with turnovers. After turning it over 8 times in the first 20 minutes, Bryant coughed the ball up 10 times in the second half. Providence scored 24 points off those 18 Bulldog turnovers.
The 10-1 and 15th ranked Friars return to action next Saturday after the final exam break and will take on Rider at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. That game tips at 8pm EST and is on FSN.
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