Jamier Jones is one Friar who is peaking as the Big East schedule arrives (Photo: Lauriann Mardo-Zayat)
By KEVIN McNAMARA
PROVIDENCE – The clock has struck midnight for the Providence College Friars. No more tuneu-ps, no more cross-country trips.
The Big East is up next.
PC wrapped up its non-league schedule with a 86-79 win over a game Brown team that would not go easy into the night. The Friars led by no more than seven points in the first half but pushed out to a 13-point lead (55-42) with 13:49 and appeared ready to knock out the Bears. But it did not happen. Undisciplined defense, an unawareness of the scouting report and a continued lack of continuity with Kim English’s lineup all contributed to Brown hanging around.
The Bears closed to 69-66 with 6:14 left before the Friars finally put the hammer down. A 12-5 stretch that included a Jaylin Sellers (16 points) jumper, a Jamier Jones energy layup and Stefan Vaaks’ only 3-pointer of the evening (1-of-11) pushed the lead out to 81-71 with just 2:48 left on the clock.
English admitted that while “the mission is to win the game” he was disappointed that some stretches kept the Friars from extending the lead into a more comfortable neighborhood.
“I felt like we took a couple steps forward and a couple steps backwards tonight,” English said. “We have to get back to it, watch it, get better and get ready for a really good Butler team.”
So on a night where there were both positives and negatives, the clear take-away is that PC (7-4) enters the Big East wars with oodles of questions. Most coaches would love to limit those concerns by this stage of the season, and that includes English. But he continues to hold dear many tenants that make it a challenge to come together.
One is the lineup shuffling. English played just eight players more than 10 minutes but he chooses to substitute freely, most often two players at a time. That makes for a constantly changing paradigm that has to make it difficult to find the right mix. Instead the Friar coach says he’s always looking for the hot hand and substituting to correct mistakes.
There were other complicating factors in this one. One was that center Oswin Erhunmwunse was slowed by a stomach bug and looked out of it. He got beat off the boards and to the rim several times in the first half and racked up three fouls. He finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds and just one block. After playing solidly against Rhode Island in his first game back in three weeks, Duncan Powell made no impact against Brown.
The Friars eventually did control the paint, winning the rebound battle (44-33, with 13 offensive rebounds) and scoring 42 points to Brown’s 34 in the paint. But the players doing the damage featured the dynamic freshman Jones and Cole Hargrove. Jones scored 16 points and grabbed five of his six rebounds off the offensive board. He’s shot 14-of-15 from the field against Rhody and Brown.
“I told Kim I had to be better for the team,” Jones said. “I’m just taking advantage of what’s put in front of me and doing what I do best.”
Brown coach Mike Martin is a fan of the freshman from Sarasota, Fla. , calling him “a tough cover because of his strength, physicality and speed. he doesn’t play too fast when he’s driving the ball. He’s a tough cover for some of our perimeter guys.”
Hargrove, a transfer from Drexel, has struggled more than any other transfer so far this season. He’s failed to rebound his position, cover the screen-and-roll well on defense or compete against bigger post players. That needs to change as Erhunmwunse will need help in the lane in the Big East wars. Hargrove took some steps in this game as he scored 9 points, grabbed 7 boards and blocked 3 shots.
“We needed him,” English said. “It takes guys who transfer up a level some time, sometimes with junior college players a half a season. We’re going to have Oswin and Cole (going forward).”
Defense continues to be this team’s weakest quality. Among the Big East’s 11 teams the Friars are dead last. That failing appeared after PC took a 62-52 lead with 10:21 left. The fastest way Brown could erase that lead and get back in the game was the 3-point shot so Martin looked to his best shooter, Luke Paragon. The Friars apparently didn’t recognize this fact as Paragon shook free for a 3-pointer and then another. A third in succession cut PC’s lead to 67-61 and before long the Friars led by just 67-64.
Not paying attention to detail like that will prove deadly against a Big East team like Butler, PC’s first foe this Saturday. Against Brown the Friars could simply flash their strength and speed advantages and execute enough to crunch time to separate down the stretch.
“Tonight I thought we started off the game with that focus defensively but it wasn’t sustained,” English said. “The second half I think they started off 2-for-11, we had a good group out there, a bigger group.”
English said he hoped the Friars had won more than seven of their 11 non-league games but that’s the deal. Butler (7-2) is one of the early Big East surprises and the Bulldogs will be ready after losing at Hinkle Fieldhouse to Boise State in their last contest.
The Big East’s wars are here. Ready or not.
