Kris Dunn returned to the court against UMass and he didn’t leave any clues that he hadn’t played in a game since December 9th. Dunn stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Dunn got to the rim with ease, made a pair of 3-pointers and had a few highlight reel plays.
Ben Bentil had a big game as I predicted. Bentil set a new career high with 32 points, while notching his 3rd double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. He also had 2 vicious blocks. Bentil was very efficient shooting from the field and free throw line. He went 11/16 from the field, including 3/5 from 3-point range. He was also 7/9 from the line. Bentil’s 32 matches Dunn’s 32 from the season opener for the season high by a single Friar.
Jalen Lindsey scored the first 6 points of the night on two 3-pointers and would sink another from downtown. He also had another strong rebounding game with 8 boards.
Junior Lomomba had a very nice game with 11 points and 6 assists and he did a pretty god job guarding UMass’ high-scoring guards.
Rodney Bullock struggled with foul trouble and only played 5 minutes in the first half and didn’t score. Bullock did some scoring in the second half but he wasn’t really needed tonight. He finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Friars finish out the non-conference at 12-1, which is a great start to the season. They have a win over #8 Arizona on their non-conference resume and their only loss is to #1 Michigan State. Not a bad start for Ed Cooley’s bunch.
The 12-1 and 10th ranked Friars return to action next Thursday on the road as they open the Big East schedule at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on the 9th ranked Butler Bulldogs on New Year’s Eve. That game tips at 2:30pm EST and is on CBSSN.
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.
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.
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