The Providence Friars moved to 3-0 on the season after a 100-76 victory over Stonehill early Tuesday night at the AMP. The Friars had a well balanced offensive attack with 6 players scoring in double figures. Let’s get into it.
In case you missed it, we did a preview of the game. A lot of the things discussed came to fruition during the game, particularly the statement benching when Stonehill went on a first half scoring run (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/11/15/time-to-empty-the-benches-providence-vs-stonehill-preview/#more-5271).
Coming Out Hot– On the latest episode of the Providence Crier Podcast, we talked about how Providence has yet to take control in the early stages of the game. The message appeared to be received as PC raced out to a 9-0 lead. They extended the lead out a 35-16 advantage before letting their foot off the gas a little to close the half. That carried over a bit into the early stages of the second half. This was not quite a complete game for the Friars, but they’re clearly getting there.
Three Point D Lacking– Ed Cooley prides himself on his teams ability to defend the perimeter, and he surely wasn’t pleased from today’s effort. The Skyhawks hit 10 threes and shot it at a 48% clip. It got so bad that when they hit their 9th, Cooley called timeout despite a 16-point lead with 2:13 left. If the Friars defend the perimeter like this, it will be a disappointing weekend at Mohegan Sun.
Pierre Takes Advantage of the Opportunity– BOC had the headline of our game preview as “Time to Empty the Benches”. Well it wasn’t quite that type of game, but with the Friars having a comfortable lead essentially throughout, freshman Jayden Pierre saw an increase in minutes. Pierre flashed his speed, length and playmaking ability to the tune of 10 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. The Friars coaching staff needs to get this guy as much experience as possible and towards the end of the season this guy can be a true x-factor.
Castro Likely a Year Away – As much as we’ve heard about him this offseason, it is clear that he is probably a year away from contributing with solid minutes. He only received 5 minutes against Stonehill and is averaging just under 6 minutes a game. In an ideal world, Castro comes in during mop-up duty and practices his tail off against Moore and Croswell to insert himself in the starting line-up alongside a grad transfer big in 2023-2024. That appears, at this point, the most likely of outcomes.
Next up for the Friars is their trip to Mohegan Sun for the Hall of Fame Tip Off. PC will take on the University of Miami Saturday at 4pm and depending on the results would play Maryland or St. Louis the next day.