PC won for a second game in a row as Jason Edwards returned to the lineup
By KEVIN McNAMARA
One of the most coveted, most satisfying feelings in sports is to ride a winning streak. The flip side, of course, stinks.
For the first time in 60 days, the Providence College Friars are on a winning streak. You only had to look at the smiles on the faces of the players and coach Kim English after Saturday’s 90-72 win over DePaul to see that satisfaction, relief and excitement all rolled into one.
The Friars welcomed back leading scorer Jason Edwards (out 7 games with a foot injury) and captain Corey Floyd (concussion) and while those two were on a minute restriction, the injection of more backcourt talent into the mix certainly made an impact. English said that both Jaylin Sellers (calf) and Stefan Vaaks (knee) were also on minute restrictions so he considered the group fortunate to be able to jump out to a 43-26 halftime lead. When the Friars rolled up a 27-point advantage down the stretch, everyone was happy with the program’s first two-game win streak since a Dec. 9 win over Brown.
“We need to be able to stack games,” said Edwards. “It was big getting two wins in a row and we’re looking to get a third one (at Seton Hall) on Wednesday.”
Edwards returned to the lineup with a bang. He led four double figure scorers with 25 points in 24 minutes. Sellers stayed hot and finished with 21 points in 22 minutes. Ryan Mela added 16 points and 8 rebounds and big man Oswin Erhunmwunse celebrated playing in front of his father, Peter, for just the second time with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Of course winning a second game in a row requires winning a first. The Friars were extremely fortunate to edge Butler, 97-87, in two overtimes but if there was any team that deserved a break or three it is this one. This PC team has been cursed in close games and while many of the turning point errors have been self-inflicted, the key referee call or bounce of a ball hasn’t landed the Friars’ way.
“I’m very thankful to have won the Butler game,” English said. “That game was very similar to so many games we’ve had where we’ve come on the wrong side of ’em.”
So with some momentum on his side, plus the return of some key personnel pieces, English noted that practices are more competitive. There is also a focus to keep winning and block out all the noise that followed the team as it got off to a 2-9 Big East start.
“The challenge of keeping the guys with it,” he said. “Not listening to all the stuff I know they see on the outside, which is (all) irrelevant. My message to them is to believe it’s equally irrelevant if we were 23-0. All that matters is inside of our our walls and how we work and continue to improve.”
While the Friars put up their usual 90 or so points, it was good to see an opponent unable to match that output. PC hasn’t won a game comfortably since a 90-71 win over Rhode Island. To hold an opponent to misses and string together defensive stops had to feel good in a first half where DePaul shot just 35 percent for its 26 points. The Blue Demons finished the game shooting 43 percent and making just five 3-point shots.
“Our focus is on defense right now. I thought our individual defense was great (in the first half),” English said. “I thought our one-on-one defense was really good for a stretch.”
As English juggled his lineup with nine players seeing nine or more minutes, the one constant to anchor that defense was Erhunmwunse. He was whistled for just two fouls in his 26 minutes and that led to his aggression off the boards and blocking shots. He also smoothly handled the ball on top of the offense with just one turnover.
“We need to get him his flowers whenever we can. He’s the engine of our team,” said Edwards. “He’s the key to a lot of our success. When he plays great we’re a hard team to beat.”
Edwards went over the 1,500 point mark in his collegiate career, a feat that English noted “is very, very impressive to do in three years of Division One basketball.” Edwards said he first hurt his foot back in mid-December and developed a painful case of plantar fasciitis. That can linger, and sitting out for the first time in his career was tough.
“I saw a lot of things we weren’t doing and I made a lot of mental notes,” he said. “Sometimes we lack energy. I wanted to be a spark and play hard as hell.”
English went out of his way to praise Ryan Mela who played with a noticeable hop in his step. That pop has been missing at times this season as the sophomore has taken all sorts of defensive challenges and can get bogged down at times. English noted that when Mela is both aggressive and patient at the end of his scoring drives he is a potent finisher at the rim.
“We love all of our guys, obviously,” he said, “but the homegrown guys, I think, in this era of college basketball we have to push them to finish (their careers) at Providence. We need them to be our guys, extensions of us.”
