Young Friars Pass Their First Test

Legendary Coach John Wooden once said, "I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent." Although only three games into the season, the Men's Basketball Team seemed to prove Wooden's point on their way to the World Vision Invitational Championship this past weekend. After losing five seniors and the bulk of their scoring and rebounding options from a year ago the Friars trotted out a brand new lineup of untested and unproven players for the three-game tournament. Despite having some trouble shooting, the overall impressions of the Friars this weekend were positive. On Sunday, Nov. 15, the Friars took on their toughest opponent of the weekend in the form of the Mercer University Bears. Mercer, hailing from the Atlantic Sun Conference, was no stranger to playing competitively with power conference teams. Just last season, the Bears won a pair of games against SEC mainstays, Auburn and Alabama. And on Sunday, the Bears seemed to be anything but intimidated by the Friars of the Big East. After playing to a 20-20 tie over the first 10 minutes of action, the Friars finally started to create some separation from Mercer, due in large part to the effort of Marshon Brooks '11. Throughout the first half, Brooks was playing on a different level than everyone else on the court. He was able to get to the basket with ease and connected on a number of deep threes with defenders in his face. For the half, Brooks poured in 22 points to pace the Friars to a 47-32 halftime advantage. For the early part of the second half, PC was able to maintain a double-digit cushion but they simply could not put Mercer away. The Bears' Daniel Emerson was a force on the offensive glass and allowed Mercer to have a number of second-chance opportunities, many of which they were able to convert. With 10:15 left Brian McKenzie '10 buried a three-pointer to give the Friars a commanding 73-56 lead. Then the wheels fell off. Following the McKenzie bucket, PC went over six minutes without scoring a single point. "I felt like we were getting open looks and just not knocking them down," said Head Coach Keno Davis. "We've got to have the confidence that when we get an open shot, we expect to knock it down, and I don't want them [the team] second guessing that." While the Friars struggled, the Bears clawed their way back into the game. Jeff Smith helped spark the Mercer run and, with 4:12 remaining, James Florence connected on two free throws to cut the Providence lead down to three at 73-70. Facing the prospects of an embarrassing early season loss at home, the Friars buckled down. One of the pivotal plays that stopped the bleeding for PC was an offensive rebound and put-back by Russ Permenter '11 to build the Friars' lead back up to six. Mercer, however, hung tough and would not give in. The Bears took advantage of some poor free-throw shooting by PC and got the ball back down by just two with four seconds remaining. However, the Bears' last ditch effort came up short as they chucked the ball out of bounds and watched the game and upset bid slip away. "This team found a way to win," said Davis about the Friars' 79-77 victory. "Tonight when we couldn't buy an outside shot and they packed it in defensively, we still found a way to win and that's a credit to any team, but especially to the young team that we have." Sharuad Curry '10, who scored 16 points in the win, felt similarly to Davis. "I think it's great that we were able to gut this win out," said Curry. In previous years I know when games got tight we weren't so good at closing them out so it's great that we were able to finish this game off." Not to be lost in the Providence victory was the effort of Jamine "Greedy" Peterson '12. Peterson posted a double-double with 10 points and an incredible 22 rebounds in just 27 minutes of play. "Twenty-two rebounds in 27 minutes is one of the all-time great efforts that I've seen as a coach," said Davis of Peterson's performance. The win also gave the Friars the first ever World Vision Invitational championship. Over the course of the three-game tournament, the Friars went 3-0, with Curry and Peterson earning All-Tournament honors and Brooks being named tournament MVP. Before escaping with the win on Sunday, the Friars played a pair of games against Bucknell and Bryant, in which Friar fans were able to see the potential that this young team possesses. On Saturday, Nov. 14, Providence hosted the Bucknell Bison and, similarly to the Mercer game, Bucknell hung tough for much of the game agains their stronger, Big East counterparts. The early part of the game proved to be a struggle for PC. The Bison came out with a lot of confidence and similar to the second half of the Mercer game, the Friars struggled to connect beyond the three-point arc. As time wore on the Friar guards, led by Brooks, McKenzie, and Curry kept PC in the game and at half the Friars found themselves trailing the Bison by two. The second half continued to be an offensive struggle for Providence and the Bison stayed in the game as a result. After a Stephen Tyree layup tied the game at 53-53, the Friars finally took matters into their own hands. A big three by McKenzie followed by a Vincent Council '13 layup gave Providence some breathing room. A Curry three-pointer with 1:32 remaining just about sealed the deal for PC, and when the final horn sounded, Providence had themselves a 76-65 win. For the game, the Friars were led in scoring by Curry with 17 points and Brooks with 15. Joining them in double figures was McKenzie with 10 and Council with 10, as well. Down low, Bilal Dixon '13 did a nice job controlling the glass, pulling in nine rebounds, and helping the Friars out-rebound Bucknell 46-31 for the game. Without a doubt, the best display of Friar hoops came in their first game of the season when they took on Bryant University. Bryant, which is only in its second year of Division One competition, was certainly the easiest of the Friars' three weekend opponents, but that should not discount how well they played against the Bulldogs. Right out of the gates, Providence played with a purpose. They jumped out to a 15-2 advantage, and for the first time in years, Friar fans were able to witness strong, full-court pressure defense. Providence overwhelmed Bryant with their superior athleticism and as a result, made getting the ball past half-court a nightmare for the Bulldogs. "I was really pleased with our team's intensity coming out to start the game," said Davis. "We need to have that same kind of intensity every time we play and see if we can get better from night to night." The Friars never took their foot off the gas for the entire 40 minutes and trounced Bryant 96-53. Peterson led Providence with 18 points while Brooks, Dixon, Curry, and McKenzie all joined Peterson in double-figures. Although some of this weekend's games may have been a little too close for comfort, Friars fans should be encouraged with the progress made this weekend. The team was able to secure three wins, and the new players each showed that they can play at this level and could all develop into solid Big East contributors. Of all the newcomers, Council seems to be most ready to take on Big East competition. He looked incredibly poised with the ball in his hand and clearly has a knack for being able to drive to the basket and find the open man. "They're going to be a very interesting team," said Bryant Head Coach Tim O'Shea of PC. "I like their quickness, their depth, and their general skill level. I think that they're really going to surprise some people this season." Let's hope he's right.