Oswin Erhunmwunse and PC win at DePaul, 71-68
By KEVIN McNAMARA
For too many games this season, the same painfully redundant script has played out late for the Providence Friars in Big East Conference contests.
You know the drill, Friar fans. The story contains flashes of offensive brilliance that add up to some second half leads that fool the eyes. When winning time arrives, down the stretch, the Friars limp home like some beaten-down nag as head-scratching mistakes lead to one painful defeat after another.
That’s been the all-too-frequent story of the Friars’ season. That’s why Saturday’s 71-68 win over DePaul can only be termed encouraging as the final two weeks of the regular season arrive for a team that may own a 12-15 (5-11 Big East) record but refuses to quit.
“I’m really proud of the resolve and resilience of our group,” said PC coach Kim English. “Really proud, a quality road win.”
The Friars overcame some whopping travel challenges and their own issues with late-game turnovers (18) and defensive rebounding (15 Blue Demon O-rebs) to hang on for this victory. The team sat on its charter plane on the tarmac at T.F. Green Airport Friday afternoon for six hours before the airline determined it needed more time to begin the trip to Chicago. The travel party returned to Warwick Saturday morning and waited another four hours before finally taking off a little after 12:30 p.m.
By that time the Friars were already in contact with DePaul and Big East officials about moving the game to Sunday. But when PC landed at O’Hare at 2 p.m. local time, five hours before tipoff, the game was determined to be on. Without the benefit of a shoot-around and extra rest, the team rallied and rode the shoulders of a 7-man rotation to the win.
English pointed out that the team enjoyed its bye week after last Saturday’s emotional loss to St. John’s. The extra time preparing for DePaul ultimately was very much needed.
“Thankfully we had a week to get ready for the game so the hay was kind of in the barn,” English said. “Second time playing a team in the league, we watch a lot of Big East basketball.”
The Friars certainly did not appear drained physically in any way. PC had wiped out DePaul, 90-72, two weeks ago in Providence so the players entered the rematch with plenty of confidence. The Friars jumped out to a 15-8 lead as Jaylin Sellers scored 14 of his 21 points in the opening half. The team was certainly thankful to see Jason Edwards report for duty and fight his way through 28 minutes with his sore foot. Edwards was a game-time decision but English said he was pleased to see his senior guard “give it a go.”
The addition of another scoring option came in handy as Sellers would battle foul problems and Stefan Vaaks (4-of-8 FG, 14 pts) was bottled up by the DePaul defense. Edwards scored 17 points and dished for six assists as the Providence offense clipped along with 50 percent shooting.
But, again, this team does nothing easily.
DePaul came out of the blocks in the second half on an 11-1 run to grab a 46-39 lead. Oswin Erhunmwunse picked up his third foul on the half’s opening play (a hard screen foul) and that helped the home team’s N.J. Benson (19 points, 10 rebounds) get rolling inside.
“Big leads, obviously we’ve squandered those,” English said, “but because of the spurtability and the pace we play at , we got down seven, that’s not the end of the world. Just get some stops, get some good shots.”
A 14-2 spurt marked by five points apiece from Sellers and Vaaks gave the Friars a 57-51 lead with 9:42 left. That cushion put PC in good stead but, of course, the crew made things interesting late.
Leading 69-64 after a Vaaks 3-pointer with 2:54 left, the offense screeched to a halt. Bad, careless turnovers were the culprit, with a few DePaul offensive rebounds mixed in. A Vaaks pass towards Oswin was the first turnover. Then Edwards dribbled off his own leg and followed that move by spin dribbling near midcourt, losing the ball and fouling Brandon Maclin. His two free throws made it a 69-68 game with 54 seconds left.
Sellers missed a tough jumper to make it four straight empty possessions but the Friars (finally!) caught a few breaks the rest of the way. The biggest came at the foul stripe as DePaul’s Layden Blocker missed a chance at the lead by clanking two free throws with 10 seconds left. PC’s Edwards was fouled with eight seconds and he continued his late-game meltdown by missing the front end of a one-and-one.
But that’s when PC finally made a winning play. This time it was Oswin grabbing Edwards’ miss for his 12th rebound. The ball squirted over to Ryan Mela who was fouled, made two free throws with three seconds left for a 71-68 lead and the Friars were home free.
“Some unfortunate turnovers,” English said, “but we’re still working. We’re such a pace team…end of the game we have to be a slower team.”
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So what did the Friars do when they were sitting on their plane Friday for six hours and waiting in the terminal Saturday morning?
“It was zero game prep on the flight,” English said. “We kind of thought about it but I turned around and they were playing a poker app and going back and forth. (Ryan) Gomes and (Stefan) Vaaks were shouting at each other back and forth. It was loose. They were enjoying spending time with each other. In this device-heavy, social media scrolling, toxic time in society it was good seeing humans spending time interacting with one another.”
The Friars landed at O’Hare and it took roughly 70 minutes to arrive at their hotel. The good thing is the hotel sits right next to Wintrust Arena so there was no ride to the game.
A major snow storm is expected to hit Rhode Island Sunday night through Monday with a forecasted blizzard of 14-plus inches. PC’s next game is Tuesday at home against Xavier. The Big East has requested the Musketeers come to Rhode Island early and the team is expected to arrive sometime Saturday night or Sunday.
