Kevin McSports

Friars take Hoyas to the mat, and the Bank, in comeback victory

Friars take Hoyas to the mat, and the Bank, in comeback victory

Jayden Pierre (14 pts) was one of five Friars in double figures in win over the Hoyas (Photos: Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

By KEVIN McNAMARA

PROVIDENCE – Sure, there were some uncouth chants directed at the Georgetown basketball coach. More than a few lightweights who can’t hold their morning brews embarrassed themselves. It was, to be blunt, not exactly your normal Big East walk in the park.

But Ed Cooley’s second return to the Amica Mutual Pavilion as the Hoya’s coach was less emotional and more leading towards what it should be: a fun, highly competitive basketball game. It also ended with the same program smiling as the Friars shook off a slow start and wore out the Hoyas, 78-68, good for their eighth win in a row and 18th in 21 games in the series.

Fans who came looking for Cooley-bashing left with some smiles but were more impressed by the resiliency and toughness of the Friars. Led by the impressive duo of freshman big Thomas Sorber and wing Micah Peavy, the Hoyas shot out to a 25-13 lead after just 10 minutes. At that point, Cooley’s guys were fresh, confident and shooting nearly 70 percent from the field.

Needless to say, the Friars regrouped. Kim English went deep into his bench, lineups were juggled and the results were dominating. The Friars closed the first half on a 25-8 run to carry a 38-33 lead into halftime. The Friars lost that advantage for a hiccup in the second half before a No/Yes 3-point shot by 7-footer Christ Essandoko gave the Friars back the lead for good, 47-45, with 11:44 to play.

“He is a good shooter. He’s banked in every three he’s made this season,” English said of Essandoko’s three treys on the year. “We don’t mind him shooting them when they are in rhythm.”

It was still just a one possession game (68-65) with 2:30 left but the Friars made all the right plays from there in closing the game on a 10-3 run. Stretching back to their first half deficit, PC closed the game on a dominating 65-43 run.

“We’re at the part of our season where we are just, really since the Marquette game, in a total re-set and just focusing on getting better every day,” said PC’s Kim English. “I think we had some good moments in practice this week. Georgetown has a very, very talented foursome and I thought our guys really competed and played together. When that happens and you’re disciplined and you take care of the ball and you rebound and take good shots you usually come out on the right side of the win column.”

The Friars saw five players score in double figures with the backcourt of Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph leading the way with 14 apiece. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who Cooley labeled “the X-Factor” scored all 12 of his points after halftime. Corey Floyd (11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) filled the stat sheet.

Cooley has pushed his team to keep defending at a high level (top 30 in adjusted defense) but score more. That did not happen. The Hoyas fell short of 70 points for a seventh straight game as Cooley’s backcourt as Jayden Epps and Malik Mack combined to shoot 5-of-23 and no one really contributed a worthy assist around Sorber’s 25 points and 15 rebounds and Peavy’s 27 points.

“It’s a great game, a Big East game,” Cooley said, “it just sucks when you lose. What we normally hang our hat on we didn’t do today. Defensively we are normally elite and we weren’t that today.”


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There were several promising developments for the Friars. Instead of fans asking and wondering about the status of Bryce Hopkins (who is clearly not returning this season) or other injured players, English used the team’s bye week to get healthy and practice. That meant a nine-player rotation where everyone who played contributed. Besides his banked 3-pointer, Essandoko grabbed seven rebounds. Abdur-Rahim was fouled twice while shooting 3-pointers, killer mistakes by the Hoyas and six easy points for the home team. Justyn Fernandez banged home a 3-pointer and was one of several wing players who played tough defense on the Hoya guards.

The final bench point tally: Providence 26-0!

The Friars also hit the glass and were productive in the lane. PC won the rebound battle, 37-32, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. The home team also scored more points in the paint, 38-30.


Any Friar fans who awaited a bitter or upset Ed Cooley should be disappointed. The former PC coach tipped his cap to the victors and sounded like every other Big East coach who realizes winning at the AMP is no easy chore.

“You get on (Route) 95 and you get off Atwells Ave., you’re probably down seven or eight (points),” Cooley said. “You go to Villanova and you get off Lancaster (Ave.) you’re down seven or eight. Go to Gampel, right? It’s an incredible atmosphere. It’s a credit to the administration, the school and the community that the get this level of support. It’s a really, really good home court advantage.”

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