Nate Watson returned for the Friars. PHOTO: GoLocal
Nate Watson returned to the Providence College lineup and poured in 14 points to lift the Friars to a 93-56 win over Merrimack on Tuesday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Watson has missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury.
“I was really happy to have Nate back out there today. With his size, versatility, especially around the basket, his physical presence, not so much for this game, but just to get him back out there. We have to get him going again, I truly believe that he is the best post player in the Big East,” said PC head coach Ed Cooley after the game.
In addition to his scoring, he also grabbed three rebounds and blocked three shots for PC.
“I was a little tired, not going to lie. But it felt great to be back on the court in front of the fans, playing for coach again,” said Watson after the game.
Providence improves to 4-1 on the season, while Merrimack falls to 3-3 in their first year as a Division I program.
PC Runs Away in 2nd Half
Despite a sloppy start, the Friars entered the second half leading by five points, 38-33.
Merrimack’s Devin Jensen cut the lead to three, 38-35, in the opening minute before Providence would take control of the game.
Back-to-back dunks by Kalif Young and Emmit Holt sparked an 11-2 PC run, pushing the lead to 49-37 on a three by Maliek White.
The Warriors cut the PC lead to 49-40 with 15:42 to play on a three from Mykel Derring, but that is as close as they would get.
Five straight points from Watson would send Providence on a 15-1 run capped off by a White three, and another dunk by Young to take a 69-41 with just over ten minutes to play in the game.
Providence would cruise the rest of the way.
PC was led by Luwane Pipkins who poured in 18 points and White who added 15 points.
Holt added a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds off the bench.
PC’s Terrible Start
PC got off to a start similar to the one they had against Northwestern last week - slow and sloppy.
Star forward Alpha Diallo turned the ball over three times in the first five minutes allowing Merrimack to jump out to a 9-4 lead with 15 minutes to play.
Diallo would only play just ten minutes in the first half.
Following the game, Cooley said that Diallo has been battling the flu over the last few days.
A Derring layup pushed the Warriors lead to 18-8 with 9:54 to play in the half.
The Warriors would lead by as much as 22-10 with 8:29 left before the break.
"The first ten minutes wasn’t a very good look for us. I thought Merrimack did exactly what they wanted to do, frustrated us with the pace. But I was really encouraged with our leadership that was led by Emmitt and how we responded in the final 30 minutes of basketball,” said Cooley.
Sparked by back-to-back layups from Watson, the Friars went on a 14-0 run to take a 24-22 lead with 4:45 to play in the half.
A big part of PC's rally was the effectiveness of their full-court press with David Duke, White, and Pipkins.
The press forced Merrimack into turnovers in the backcourt and easy baskets for the Friars.
“In this game here, I thought our press worked. I thought our press and our full-court pressure has worked in our other games. You have to turn it on and turn it off, but that is where our depth really comes into play,” said Cooley
Merrimack and Providence would trade leads over the next few minutes before PC would end the half on a 7-3 run, capped off on by a three from Pipkins to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room.
PC survived the first half despite seven turnovers and shooting just 62% from the free-throw line.
Next Up
The Friars return to action on Saturday, November 23 when they host the University of Pennsylvania.
It is PC’s last home game before heading out to the Wooden Legacy Tournament in California.
Game time is set for 4 p.m.
Related Slideshow: Everything to Know About PC Basketball in 2019-20
Providence returns their entire starting lineup and a majority of their key bench players from last season.
Alpha Diallo
The returnees are led by senior forward Alpha Diallo.
Diallo was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big East First Team.
"I think Alpha is a heck of a player, and he has gotten better every year. The thing is, he wants to be good, and he works hard to be good. I think the only thing he has to work on to get to the next level is his jump shot," said Friars' radio analyst Joe Hassett.
Last season, Diallo averaged 16 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Friars. His eight rebounds ranked second in the Big East.
For his career, Diallo has recorded 1,155 points in 99 games (11.7 ppg).
Emmitt Holt
Holt is entering his sixth season of eligibility with the Friars after sitting out all of the 2017-18 campaign, and the majority of the 2018-19 campaign due too health issues.
"He can have a big impact. To come back from that sickness and the surgery that he had is unbelievable. But, you know that old saying, “that guy knows how to play,” well, Holt knows how to play. He’s always in the right place at the right time, and he can hit that foul line jump shot," said Hassett.
With Nate Watson out with injury for a few more weeks, Holt could see significant playing time right away.
David Duke
Providence native David Duke had an up and down freshman season with the Friars.
In 34 games, Duke averaged seven points and two assists per game, while also averaging two turnovers per game.
“Duke was thrown into a spot last year to play the hardest position in college basketball, point guard. He was a freshman and he was trying to learn it as the year went on. The one thing I talked to David about is going north and south this year, as opposed to east and west, which is what he did a lot last year. I think he will be much improved this year in every aspect of his game,” added Hassett.
This season, Duke will be able to build off the experience of playing in the Pan-American Games over the summer.
Maliek White
Along with Diallo and Holt, White is the most experienced player on the Friars roster.
Last season, White played in 33 games and averaged 23 minutes per game, mostly coming off the bench for Ed Cooley.
White averaged seven points, 2.3 assists and one steal per game for the Friars last season, and was almost always in the game for crucial situations.
AJ Reeves
Sharpshooter AJ Reeves had his freshman season derailed by a foot injury.
Upon his return in the middle of Big East play, he and the Friars offense struggled to get it going.
In 25 games, Reeves averaged ten points and three rebounds per game, while shooting 42% from the field and 38% from three.
The addition of Luwane Pipkins, and his ability to shoot the three will take some pressure off of Reeves and allow him to get better looks.
The biggest addition to the Friars roster is point guard Luwane Pipkins.
Pipkins transferred to Providence from UMass as a grad student in the offseason.
“I think the addition of Pipkins as the point guard is huge. He can hit the three, he gives the Friars flexibility and he will free up Reeves on the outside. Now, you have two guys on the floor that can make the three, freeing up Diallo and Nate Watson inside, because now teams can’t double them,” said Hassett.
Last season at UMass, Pipkins averaged 16 points, five rebounds and five assists per game, but missed time due to injury.
In 25 games played, Pipkins shot 34% from the field and 28% from three.
Along with Pipkins, the Friars also welcome freshman Greg Gantt to the roster.
Gantt, a 6’7” forward from Fayetteville, North Carolina, was ranked as the 53rd best prospect in the country by ESPN during his recruitment.
Last season, the Friars finished at or near the bottom of the Big East, and the country, in almost every statistical category.
PC was the only Big East team to average under 70 points per game (68.7) in conference play, while finishing last in the Big East in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three-point field goal percentage.
“Well, I mean there is nowhere to go but up from last year for us. From the perimeter, our game wasn’t very good. I think we will be a better shooting team, a higher assist team, and I think we will score the ball a little easier based on experience and skill,” said PC head coach Ed Cooley during his media session last week.
Look for the Friars to try and play faster on offense, as opposed to last season when they slowed the pace down on a consistent basis. That made every offensive possession a grind, and it didn't work.
Pipkins ability to shoot the three should open up space for Diallo and Watson, and others down low.
"I think Pipkins makes all the difference on offense. Last year, offense was a struggle, defensively the Friars were good. I think he will make a big difference this year," said Hassett.
In a secret scrimmage last week at Purdue, the Friars edged the Boilermakers 60-53.
That win came a week after the Friars beat Stonehill in an exhibition game at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
“From our Stonehill outing to the outing at Purdue, I thought our players paid a little bit more attention to detail, they were a lot more focused and a lot tougher,” said Cooley.
Providence was led in the game by Diallo, who poured in 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the field, while also grabbing 12 rebounds.
Holt was the only other Friar in double figures, as he scored ten points and grabbed three rebounds.
The PC defense held the Boilermakers to just 28% shooting from the field and 21% from three.