The college basketball season finally returned on Monday night with the Friars hooking up with Holy Cross at the AMP. While it was far from perfect, the Friars started off the 25-26 season on the right foot with a 89-79 victory over the Saders.
There was plenty of chatter about the portal additions this offseason, and for good reason, but it was a pair of Friar freshmen who led the way. Stefan Vaaks calls Estonia home but he looked ultra comfortable in his new digs leading the Friars in scoring with 19 points. Jamier Jones had 16 points on 7/7 shooting which included a handful of sensational dunks.
We recap the game below.
Freshmen Debuts– In our player preview series we wrote that it’s a matter of if not when Vaaks would make an impact on this team We just didn’t realize it’d happen the moment he first stepped on the floor. Vaaks checked in around the 14-minute mark and instantly gave the Friars 5 quick points. Then later in the half he hit 2 consecutive threes and the Friars crowd ill advisedly encouraged him to take an insane deep heat check which he missed. However , when the dust settled in the first half, Vaaks had 15 points and would finish with 19.
Jamier Jones showed just why you might not be able to keep the kid off the floor. Holy Cross couldn’t handle Jones’ athleticism, and he got to the rim with ease all night as he didn’t miss a shot. The portal guys (more on them in a moment) didn’t have their best games, but the fact you could lean on Jones and Vaaks is huge. We are really excited to see these two continue to develop and perform.
Mixed Bag from the Portal- Friar fans are probably scarred from what the portal brought the team last year, and tonight may have been a win for the anti-portal crowd. Jason Edwards is billed as a guy who could lead the Big East in scoring, but had a tough shooting night. He was 1/5 from three and even missed both free throws on a trip to the line (83% FT last season). At times it seemed like he was pressing, and it ended in a wild shot at the rim or a turnover. He did however hit a big mid range shot late and was one of five Friars in double figures.
Jaylin Sellers was relatively quiet for most of the game but his and-1 late essentially closed the door on any sort of Crusader comeback. He also reached double figures with 12 points. Duncan Powell had an off shooting night (1/7 FG) and had 6 points.
Then off the bench FSU and Drexel transfers Daquan Davis and Cole Hargrove combined to not score a point in 24 minutes but they did chip in their respective roles of assists and rebounding. So while the portal adds didn’t show out in the opener it’s not a reason for concern yet. In fact it might be more encouraging to know that if those guys don’t have their best nights other guys can step up.
Poor Second Half Defense Starting to Become a Trend– After watching Harvard score 50 points in the second half against the Friars in the final exhibition, we thought surely they wouldn’t let that happen again vs Holy Cross. Instead they gave up 52 points in the second half Monday night. We felt the Friars responded well after the Crusaders opened the second stanza with 9 of the half’s first 11 points, but Holy Cross got hot from three and made this game way less comfortable than it needed to be. Holy Cross was 0/13 from 3 in the first half yet finished with 11 made threes on 11/33 for the game. PC just seemed to get way too aggressive on rotations and close outs and left guys wide open. It will get you past Holy Cross and Harvard but giving up a combined 102 points in two second halves is not a recipe for success. The good news is it seems the Friars have shown potential on the defensive end. Their ability to switch and their length seemed to bother Holy Cross most of the game, but make no bones about it they need to correct this immediately. If the give up 50+ points in the second half vs Virginia Tech on Saturday, they will lose.
Again it wasn’t the Friars best game but this does beat the squeaker to open the season against Central Connecticut last season. It might be beneficial that the Friars won’t play 4 more cupcakes after this one like they did last year. They’re going to have to lock in and have a good week of practice before heading to Mohegan Sun to take on Virginia Tech.
All in all it was a good night in Friartown, they got the win and there’s plenty to leave excited about. It’s great to be back!