Friars fall in Paradise Jam title game
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
There’s some good, and some bad for the Providence Friars coming out of the Paradise Jam.
The good? Even though PC dropped a 56-52 decision to the Maryland Terrapins in the championship game Monday night at the UVI Sport & Fitness Center, the Friars showed plenty of fight in coming from behind for a third straight game…and almost pulling it out.
The bad? You simply can’t keep digging yourself a 19-point hole, especially against quality teams, and expect to climb out of it with a win. This time, they just couldn’t do it…thanks in large part to a poor night shooting the ball.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWith the score tied early at 8-8, the Terps ran out and almost hid from the Friars in the first half – a 12-4 run put Maryland in control with 9:35 left after 6-8 forward Charles Mitchell finished off a three-point play. That lead slowly stretched to 12 by halftime, as PC could manage to hit just seven of 30 first half field goal attempts.
From there, things got worse. Maryland began the 2nd half much as they ended the first – as did the Friars – jumping out of the gate with an 11-4 edge to grow their advantage to 19 points, 44-25, with 12:49 to play after a three-pointer by Varun Ram. Where Providence was able to keep the Terrapin leading scorers in check overall (Jake Layman six points, Evan Smotrycz 13 points), they simply could not score themselves…missing their first nine field goal attempts of the second half.
LaDontae Henton began the long road back with a tough two inside, and Bryce Cotton – plagued throughout the tournament by poor shooting – finally nailed a three. A Kadeem Batts free-throw finished off a string of 12 unanswered points over a span of 4:08, pulling PC back within seven with 8:41 to play.
Maryland’s Dez Wells, a Xavier transfer who finished the game with 13 points and was named the Paradise Jam MVP, scored with 6:40 left to put his team back up nine…and still, the Friars did not quit. Playing this game well into early Tuesday morning, and their third game in four nights, Henton, Tyler Harris and a Cotton layup pulled PC back within three with 4:46 left. That’s an eternity for many teams…unless you’re struggling to score like Providence.
With the score at 51-45 Maryland, Cotton nailed a huge three plus a foul, and the four-point play brought the Friars to the brink of success with 1:31 remaining. A Wells jumper and a couple of key free-throws kept PC (6-1) from grabbing the lead down the stretch, and unlike in their Friday win over Vanderbilt and again Sunday against LaSalle, there was nothing left at the end.
Maryland (4-2) wins a tournament, and while the Friars fought hard…they’ll try to find an offense that was MIA for much of their trip to the Caribbean in time to face Fairfield at the Dunk Friday afternoon.
Post Game Notes
Providence shot 27% from the field for the championship game, their lowest total since shooting 26.8% in a Big East tournament loss to Seton Hall in 2012…with the Friar defense focusing on the outside abilities of Layman, Smotrycz and Wells, the Terps controlled the paint with a 32-20 advantage in scoring…PC began the game connecting on just seven of their first 39 shots, but ended the game hitting nine of their last 20 during a 20-4 run that pulled them within three points of the lead…and the Friar defense was decent most of the night, overshadowed by the poor shooting on the other end. The Terrapins could only manage to hit eight of their last 29 shots overall…Tyler Harris, who scored 47 points to lead the Friars over the three games in St. Thomas, was named to the all-tournament team…while Cotton led PC with 19 points against Maryland, hit finished just 6-of-17 shooting, and shot only 25% from the floor for the three games…Henton and Harris each had 10 against the Terps, Batts finished with eight points and nine rebounds (2-10 on field goals). Maryland won the backboard battle 45-38…Smotrycz, a Michigan transfer from Reading, MA and a one-time PC recruiting target, finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds and was also named to the all-tourney team…Maryland returns four starters from a 25-win team a year ago, yet was picked for 7th in the 15-team ACC this year…the title game appearance was the first for Providence in an in-season event since 2007, when the Friars dropped the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship to Miami…PC is now 81-59 in 59 in-season tournament appearances overall, the last title coming in 2009 (World Vision International) at the Dunk…
