 |
| David Duke soars for
two of his 16 points in the Friars’ 87-68 preseason win over Stonehill. (Photo by Ryan Feeney) |
PROVIDENCE—The
Providence College Friars opened their 2019-20 season with a 87-68 win over the
Stonehill Skyhawks in an exhibition game before 3,469 diehard fans at the Dunkin'
Donuts Center on Saturday. The Friars were led by grad student Emmitt Holt who put
up a double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds). Senior Alpha Diallo who led the
Friars with 23 points, while David Duke added 16 and A.J. Reeves chipped in
with 11.
Stonehill senior guard Brandon
Twitty led all scorers with 25 points, while Will Moreton (14) and Andrew Sims
(13) also scored in double digits for the Skyhawks..
Stonehill opened the scoring a
minute into the contest on a jumper by Monty Urmilevicius. David Duke put the
Friars on the board after two minutes on a breakaway dunk from A.J. Reeves, Providence
went on an 8-0 run starting at the 7:38 mark. The Skyhawks finally answered on
a layup to make it 25-11, Friars. The PC defense held Stonehill to 4-for-15 shooting
from the floor and forced eight turnovers over the first eight minutes of the
game.
The Friars extend their lead to
14 at the 10:20 mark. Senior Maliek White stole the ball and passed ahead to
Duke who had a clear lane to slam it home. Diallo drained a trey at the 11:34
mark, making him 2-2 from beyond the arc to start the game.
The Skyhawks come out of the eight-
minute media timeout with a layup by Andrew Sims who was fouled and converted
the free throw for a traditional three-point play. The press for the Friars did
not stop as they scored on another fast-break. Duke stole the ball and dished
ahead to Diallo who finished above the rim to give the Friars a 34-18
advantage.
With 2: 37 remaining in the first
half the Skykawks looked to have some spark when Will Moreton nailed
back-to-back three-pointers, forcing the Friars to call time out to stop the
Stonehill momentum. But the Skyhawks came out of the time out and continued
their run by scoring twice in the paint within 30 seconds, shaving the Friars’
lead to 10.
The Friars went into the half
with a 15 point lead with the score at 46-31. The Friars scored 17 of their
points off of fast breaks compared to the Skyhawks four. PC shot 51.5% from the
field in the first half while Stonehill shot 35.3%.
The Skyhawks started the second
half hot with an eight-point run. Holt scored for the Friars three minutes into
the second half. Stonehill cut the lead to six points on a Brandon Twitty three
pointer. Reeves answered with a three of his own to improve the lead back to
nine.
Holt, the troubled forward who
was dismissed at Indiana for repeated alcohol incidents, then playing a year of
JC ball before transferring to Providence, made a triumphant return after
missing most of the past two seasons after abdominal surgery. The 6-7 grad
student from Rochester, NY, had himself a double-double five minutes into the
second half.
“It was a special moment for me,”
Holt said. “Just sitting out for so long, the past two years, I was real ansty
out there. I did not want to do too much, just trust myself and my teammates.”
The Friars continued to build on
their lead in the second half and ultimately cruised to a 19-point victory,
“It's good to see our guys out
there,” Friar head coach Ed Cooley said. “I was really proud of some of the
things that we did. We need to continue to develop and get better.”
The Friars will open the regular season
on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when they entertain Sacred Heart of Fairfield at the
Dunkin' Donuts Center. Tip-off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on
FSN and broadcast on WPRO 630AM/99.7 FM. In addition, all Friar games can be
heard by using the TuneIn app
throughout the 2019-20 season.
—Staff Reports
#gofriars / #pcbb / @pcfriarsmbb
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