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.
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