By Bob Murph
 |
The Friars gave it all they had, but ultimately fell to the defending national
champions, Villanova, 66-57. |
Today may be Groundhog Day, but last night Friar fans
couldn’t help but wonder if Punxsutawney
Phil had made an early stop in the Ocean State’s capital city. For the second
straight year, Providence College gave Villanova all it could handle, but
unlike last year, the results weren’t quite as satisfying for the Friar
faithful. Providence held the high-powered ’Nova offense in check over the
game’s final six minutes, but in the end, the Wildcats showed why they are the
defending champs, pulling out a hard-fought 66-57 victory before a raucous,
sellout crowd of 12,453 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Wednesday night. It was
the Wildcats’ fourth straight win at The Dunk.
After the Wildcats second-half advantage peaked at 13, ‘Nova
held a relatively comfortable seven-point lead with just under six minutes
remaining in regulation. But the Providence defense—which has become the
trademark for Ed Cooley’s team this season—ratcheted it up and held the
defending national champs scoreless for 4:18 down the stretch.
A nine-point Friar run capped by an Aqlpha Diallo bomb
launched from somewhere between the Rat and Brad’s cut the ’Nova advantage
to two, 59-57, with 2:12 left in regulation. But a key turnover by Rodney
Bullock (STATS HERE) followed by a three-pointer by Jalen Brunson (STATS HERE)
sealed the deal for the Wildcats, who improved to 21-2, 8-2 in Big East play.
“You
can survive some mistakes,” said PC head coach Ed Cooley. “But I thought we had
critical, critical turnovers at
important times. We're getting to a critical point here—make or break—on the
type of season we want to have. I hurt for our fans and I hurt for our players
in a loss like this.”
After
an extremely competitive first half, which saw the Friars head into the locker
room down by just three points, 32-29, at intermission, the Wildcats opened the
second half on a 12-6 run, opening up a 10-point advantage.
“They
guard you,” continued Cooley, a master of understatement. “I think they're
totally, totally underestimated on the defensive end.”
For
the game, the Friars shot just 39.6 percent from the field, including a paltry
4-for-17 from beyond the 3-point arc.
But
the Friars would not go down easy. A trey by Alpha Diallo (18 points, matching
his career high) made it a one-possession game with about two minutes to go—but
the Friars just couldn’t get over the hump. Diallo got virtually no help from
his teammates. Kyron Cartwright scored eight points on just 4-for-11 shooting,
while Rodney Bullock could only put up six points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Brunson
led all scorers with a 21-point effort.
“It's
great having a guy like [Brunson],” said ’Nova guard Josh Hart, a 2016 All-Big
East first-teamer. “Someone who's talented, someone whose basketball IQ is as
high as can be. He knows when to get in the lane, get himself shots and get
other people shots.”
The
game produced memories of the Jan. 24, 2016 classic in which Providence pulled
perhaps the upset of the season with an 82-76 victory over Villanova in
Philadelphia. Back then, the Wildcats were also ranked No. 4, and were on their
way to the national championship. The Friars were ranked No. 16, and were led
by two first-team All-Big East players: Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil. Dunn is now
playing in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Bentil, who without a
doubt left a year too early, is playing with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants—the
D-League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers.
The
Friars, who are fighting for their postseason life, fell to 14-10 overall (1-6
vs. ranked opponent), and 4-7 in Big East Conference play. They now must travel
to South Orange, NJ, where they will face the 13-8 (3-6) Seton Hall Pirates on
Wed., Feb. 8. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on Fox
Sports 1 and, as always, will be broadcast on WEEI, 103.7 FM.
THE
SKINNY
