Friars bounce back, take out Rutgers 78-67

Friars bounce back, take out Rutgers 78-67

There was a sense of urgency in the arena before the tip-off at the Dunk Wednesday night.

Rutgers has one of the youngest teams in the country, but the Scarlet Knights are talented enough to have beaten two Top-10 ranked teams so far this season, and to have held Pittsburgh to 39 points - for an entire game.  The same Pitt team that torched the Friars for 86 points a week ago.  Soon enough, this may not be the Rutgers of recent years.

And then there is Providence...playing well enough to win, but with a short bench the Friars are finding the stretch run tough to fight through in recent losses.  So, PC knew Wednesday night was an opportunity to get a win, one they did not want to pass on.  And neither did Rutgers.

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Thanks to two huge second-half stretch run three-pointers from sophomore guard Bryce Cotton, the Friars pulled away in the end for a 78-67 win over the Scarlet Knights, snapping a four-game losing streak in the Big East and improving to 13-10 overall on the season.

"We guarded with an identity today," coach Ed Cooley said after watching his team give up a 15-point second half lead.  "Our players responded today."

Indeed, they did. 

RU led Providence 19-15 nine minutes deep into the game, when the Friar defense began to make itself known.  Led by solid play outside from Cotton and Vincent Council, and inside work from Bilal Dixon, PC held the Scarlet Knights to just three made baskets in their final 15 shots of the half...turning the four point deficit into a 14 point halftime lead (40-26) with a 25-7 run over the final 11:19.

"We've been really close in a lot of games," Cooley added.  "Today, we had monster performances all over the place." 

And they needed every one of them, as it turned out.  With a 15 point lead and 12:34 remaining in the second half, Rutgers began it's road back with a 15-4 run that cut the lead to four with 6:45 still to play.  Over the past four games - all losses - the Friars found themselves falling short at about the same point in each contest.  With three players among the national leaders in total minutes played (Council, Cotton, LaDontae Henton), it's easy to conclude that weary legs were the primary problem.

This time, however, the Friars fought through the struggles.  Nursing a 64-60 lead with 2:34 to play, Cotton connected on two three's in a :39 second span that gave Providence the breathing room it needed to finally turn the corner.  "Really timely shots," Cooley added.  "It was a great call from the bench, I can't take the credit for that, (assistant coach) Bob Simon made the call.  Great effort."

Great effort also came from the play of Dixon, who has seen his minutes limited throughout the season due largely to inconsistent play.  But this night, the New Jersey native responded in a big way against his state university, with a career high-tying 18 points and 10 rebounds...his first double-double effort of the year and the 10th of his career.

"Really proud of Bilal, he's been fighting all year," Cooley said.  "We gave him extended minutes today, and the one thing he does is produce when he's on the floor.  Bilal gave us a physical presence."

And he also helped give the Friars a badly needed win, after coming close in recent games with nothing but frustration to show for the effort.

Friar Notes

Dixon's 18 points led five Friar players in double figures...Cotton scored 17 (5-10 on three's), with four three pointers coming in the second half.  Council scored 11 points, all of them in the first half, and contributed a season-high tying 14 assists (also tying the single game high in the Big East this year), giving him his second straight double-double, number seven on the season, and the 10th of his career.  Gerard Coleman came off of the bench to score 15 points with seven rebounds, and LaDontae Henton also scored 15 points with nine rebounds - and one posterizing dunk in the second half over RU's Gilvydas Biruta...Biruta scored 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, while freshman guard Myles Mack led the Scarlet Knights with 16 points off of the bench...Rutgers (12-11 overall, 4-6 in the Big East) defeated Florida and UConn when both were ranked in the Top 10 this season, and came within two points of beating a third Top 10 team (Georgetown)...PC has now won eight straight home games against the Scarlet Knights, and leads the overall series 15-8...the Friars are now 13-0 this season when they are tied, or have the lead, with 5:00 minutes left in the game...after a miserable 3-for-11 start at the free throw line, PC corrected matters in time to hold on for the win, hitting 16 of their final 17 attempts at the line...before the game, the PC program officially announced the addition of 6-9, 235 pound forward Sidiki Johnson, who has transferred from the University of Arizona, and attended his first day of classes at Providence Wednesday.  Johnson is originally from New York City, and will be eligible to play for the Friars beginning with the start of the second semester next season...Ed Cooley's next radio show is Thursday night at Sullivan's Rhode in Providence (55 Union Street) at 7 pm, with the broadcast on 103.7 FM and www.friars.com...the Friars will be pre-game entertainment for the Super Bowl on Sunday, as they next face West Virginia at the Dunk in a 12 Noon tip-off...