Friars Stun the Stags on the Road
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Bridgeport, CT - Sometimes, kids can surprise you.
Providence took to the road for the first time on the young basketball season Monday night, in what was undoubtedly an emotional night for head coach Ed Cooley. Returning to the program he led at Fairfield University for five seasons, Cooley had to make certain he sat on the right bench, and coach the right players before the game began.
He did, and what he witnessed must have made him happy…at least for a little while.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBehind 26 points from junior guard Vincent Council, the Friars beat Fairfield 80-72 to improve to 2-0 on the year. With considerable help from sophomores Bryce Cotton (career high 24 points) and Gerard Coleman (17 points), the three guards combined for 67 of the 80 points scored – almost outscoring the entire Stags roster themselves.
Building as much as a 13 point lead in the first half, the Friars were certainly helped with early Fairfield foul trouble – 5th year senior and Pawtucket native Rakim Sanders picked up two fouls in the game’s first 90 seconds – and the Friar guards took off with him out of the lineup. But the Stags, who won 25 games last season and the MAAC regular season championship, charged back on a 22-6 run when Sanders returned to the floor, and ended up with a one point, 30-29 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Stags extended the lead to four, when the Friar guards began weaving their magic. A 14-0 run – with Sanders and 1st team all-MAAC guard Derek Needham on the floor – pushed PC out to a 47-37 lead that they would not relinquish. There were plenty of anxious moments to come, however, as Fairfield marched back to twice tie the score at 47, and again at 49, before the Friars ran away for good. A 17-2 run over a six minute span, led by Council, Cotton and Coleman, provided the cushion needed to finally stagger the Stags.
But while the offense clicked to the tune of 55% shooting from the floor, it was the little things that helped make the difference in the win. LaDontae Henton led the way with nine rebounds, as the Friars board play improved dramatically in the second half against a bigger Fairfield squad. And key plays from Lee Goldsbrough, Brice Kofane and Bilal Dixon – such as taking charges on the defensive end – along with a 2-3 zone that applied pressure to Fairfield’s shooters provided the difference.
The Stags made one final run at the Friars with a 12-2 run with three minutes to play to pull within six at 73-67, but outstanding shooting from the free throw line (17-20 for the game) iced it at the end. Fairfield came into the game as a seven-and-a-half point favorite, the momentum from a 25-win season last year, and perhaps a chip on their shoulders playing against the coach who left them for the promise of Providence.
But sometimes, you just never know how kids will react when emotion enters the game. And as long as Ed Cooley can find the right bench, the Friars should be in a lot of games for the rest of this season.
Friar Notes
The win is the first for PC on the road since January 14th, 2010 at DePaul…Council, Cotton and Coleman’s combined numbers were impressive – 25-41 shooting, 2-3 from three-point range, 15-18 from the free throw line and eight rebounds with 10 assists....Coleman’s 17 points, plus two more scored off of the bench by Ron Giplaye, gave the Friars 19 bench points. For the second straight game, PC held the opposition bench scoreless, giving the Friars a 47-0 advantage in bench points through two games…while Fairfield started 7-foot senior Ryan Olander at center, and two physical 6-5 forwards in Sanders and Mo Barrow, the Friars outscored the Stags in the paint 44-36, with dribble-drive penetration and open-court transition opportunities on offense…Sanders led the Stags with 25 points, while Olander added 17, Barrow 15 and Needham 10. The defense held Needham to just 3-11 shooting (all from 3-point range) and forced him into foul trouble…The Stags have had 49 wins over the past two years, second in New England (behind UConn) during that time, but they have now lost 10 straight to Big East teams over the past six years…The Friars lead the all-time series with Fairfield 31-5…PC shot 55% from the floor, and 85% from the line – the free throw percentage was a huge improvement over Saturday’s 55% effort from the foul line, and a big factor in not allowing Fairfield back in the game late in the second half…it’s become clear in two games that the three-point shot is not a primary weapon this season, with PC attempting only eight from outside the arc Monday night (making three)…the Friar win adds to the Big East’s season-opening run of 28 wins (with no losses) after two weeks of the season…next up will be the Florida A&M Rattlers Saturday afternoon at the Dunkin Donuts Center in a 4:00 pm tip-off (pre-game at 3:30 on 103.7 WEEI-FM and www.friars.com). It will be the first of two games the Friars host in the opening round of the South Padre Island Invitational, which will see the team travel to Texas over Thanksgiving to play Northern Iowa and Iowa State, after facing Florida A&M and Southern University at the Dunk…
