Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
When: 7:00PM
How: Fox Sports 2 (Rich Ackerman & Vin Parise)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/WNAV 1430 AM/ 99.9 FM and WBQH 1050 AM (Pete Medhust – Navy)
Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: Providence vs. Navy 11/20/14
Things were somewhat lackadaisical early again but Providence managed to get out to a 25-8 lead with just under 8 minutes in the first half and everything seemed to be happening as expected at the Dunkin Donuts Center. Five turnovers in less than 4 minutes would allow Binghamton back into the game though as the Bearcats went on a 14-2 run to get the score to 27-22 at the 4:17 mark.
Providence would get the lead back up to 11 following the under 4 minute media timeout but the scrappy Bearcats would claw back again to make the halftime margin only 4 points at 33-29. A 9pm Monday tip, which really started closer to 9:15pm, meant that the Dunk was nearly empty so there wasn’t a lot of crowd energy to give the Friars an assist.
Continue reading Friars Handle Bearcats, Eventually
Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
When: 9:00PM
How: Fox Sports 1 (Eric Collins & Ron Thompson)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/WNBF News Radio 1290 (Binghamton)
Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: Providence vs. Binghamton 11/17/14
Ed Cooley was just happy that his Friars got the win against Albany on opening night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Saturday night. “We didn’t have our best team day,” Cooley said after the game. Cooley continued, “I thought today’s win was a culture win. I think our culture won today. We’ve played in so many close games over the years, particularly with LaDontae [Henton] and Tyler [Harris] we just found a way to win.”
I did not expect to see a freshman in the starting lineup for the Friars on Saturday. If you told me Jalen Lindsey would get the start at the shooting guard spot I might have shrugged it off as a possibility. Kyron Cartwright? No way.
Well, Ed Cooley gave the southpaw from Compton the nod along with Kris Dunn in the backcourt. Not only did Cartwright start he played very well. He started the Friars season scoring off by nailing a three pointer after the tip-off and he didn’t really slow down the rest of the game. Finishing with 18 points in 22 minutes of action, Cartwright turned some heads. Possibly even more impressive was 4 assists to 0 turnovers.
As Ed Cooley predicted the Friar freshmen played early and often against the Skyhawks on Saturday. Cartwright started and 7’1 Center Paschal Chukwu was the first man off the Friar bench less than 3 minutes into the game. Following Chukwu was Ben Bentil about 2 minutes later. All told the Friars went 11 deep in both halves with the only players not seeing any floor time being injured freshman Tyree Chambers and shiner-sporting graduate student Ted Bancroft.
Ben Bentil had been a player Friar fans have heard good reports about from preseason practices. Behind Cartwright, Bentil was the next most impressive of the neophytes. Bentil was smooth and showed good hands around the rim and a nice looking shooting touch from the foul line and below.
Jalen Lindsey played well overall and was able to hit a couple of open jumpers. It’s hard to judge how much the taped up finger that he dislocated a couple of weeks ago affected him but he has the look and feel of a real player. It just may take a little bit of the season to come out consistently on the court.
As I cautioned Friar fans for the past few months, Paschal Chukwu has a ways to go. That’s not to say Chukwu doesn’t have ability or talent. He just needs to grow a little more into his body and refine his game. Big men take time to develop, even the good ones. He’ll get there, but for those expecting him to take over for Carson Desrosiers anytime soon I wouldn’t hold your breath on that.
I would agree with Kevin McNamara’s assessment of the freshman from after the game:
Besides the freshman Kris Dunn was probably the player Friar fans were most anxious to see. Dunn showed flashes of his talents and clearly switched into another gear athletically at times that few others can access. Dunn’s line on Saturday was indicative of his do-a-little-of-everything game: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. He isn’t there yet but he’s certainly not as rusty as some might expect. In the 2nd half he showed off an improved shooting stroke as well.
In the end, the Friars were just too much for the Division II Skyhawks to handle. Providence will start the season for real on November 15th against Albany.
Final Score: Providence 93 Stonehill 49
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