Freshman Stefan Vaaks provided a serious spark off the bench for PC in win over Holy Cross (Photos by Louriann Mardo-Zayat)
By KEVIN McNAMARA
Throughout this fall, Kim English has made it a point to harp on a claim that his team is both talented and deep. And those two traits are interchangeable.
While the Friars’ older players are getting the pomp and circumstance of being introduced amid the smoke and mirrors of the starting five, the talent coming off the bench is just as dangerous. That’s English’s claim, anyways.
Well one game in the coach is spot on. Sparked by the freshman duo of Stefan Vaaks (19 points in 20 minutes) and Jamier Jones (16 points, 7-of-7 FG), the Friars spurted in the first half, built a 20-point lead and then held off a late-game charge to beat Holy Cross, 89-79. The freshmen were joined off the bench by the defense of Ryan Mela (4 steals) and Daquan Davis and the rebounding of Oswin Erhunmwunse (8 rebounds, 4 blocks).
“I’m really, really proud of our young guys, our bench,” English said. “That’s what the bench is supposed to do. The bench is supposed to either withstand a good start or elevate a not-so-good start. These guys got in the game and did that. The first group did guard (defensively) but the second group guarded just as well and they also played a free-flowing offensive game. They looked how we look in practice.”
Of course the flip side to the bench bailing out the starters requires a closer look at the first five. For PC that included several players who need to enjoy big years but struggled in their first foray at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Duncan Powell made 1-of-7 shots and finished with six points. Jason Edwards made 4-of-11 shots and only one 3-pointer as the Friars hit just 7-of-26 shots from the three-point line.
Those shooting woes were nothing compared to the defense that English had to watch in the second half. Holy Cross trailed 44-27 at the half after shooting 32 percent with 9 turnovers. “I told the guys at halftime that wasn’t us. That was disappointing,” said Crusader coach Dave Paulsen. “In the second half that was more us. We battled back.”
CLICK HERE and SUBSCRIBE TO KEVINMcSPORTS TODAY!!
The Cross certainly did. Paced by guard Tyler Boston (25 points, 6 assists), the Crusaders shot 48 percent, made 11 threes and scored 52 second half points. They wiped a 69-49 deficit with 10 minutes left all the way down 83-77 with 59 seconds to play. PC answered with a Jaylin Sellers (12 points) driving score, a defensive stop and then a few free throws to ice away the win.
“We can do a much better (job) on one-on-one defense, especially me,” said Vaaks. “When I get tired I kind of lose control. As a whole team we can do a better job there too.”
Jamier Jones (5) enjoyed a high impact Friar debut
English said getting a smoother start from his first five will come. He sees it in practice and hopes he sees it as soon as Saturday’s trip to Mohegan Sun to face Virginia Tech.
“We’re going to be really, really good when the ball moves,” he said. “We have a lot of really good players. Rich Barron (out with a concussion) back, that’s another guy that’s a really good player. I told the guys a Pete Carril quote: crisp ball movement relieves the tension in the offense. Our second group didn’t have much tension in our offense. I felt like the first group did.”
That freshmen Vaaks and Jones could come in and look more than comfortable was an excellent sign. Vaaks has been tearing things up in many practices and Jones is easily the most impactful athlete the Friars play with. Leading by just 25-19, Jones stormed through the lane for a layup. Vaaks then drained his second 3-pointer and followed with another 25 seconds later and in a snap the Friar lead was 33-19.
English says the spark the freshmen provided can come from someone else in another game. This team owns the balance a coach likes.
“We have 10 guys that can start,” he said. “There’s not much separation. Our second team beats our first team in practice. It’s not a surprise. We have a very competitive 10, 11 guys. We have a very deep team. It’s going to be different guys every night. The go-to guy on our team is the open man. Once we truly adopt that mindset I think this team can be really special.”
