As the calendar turns to May, YurView continues to air classic Providence Friars mens’ basketball games to provide Friar fans with a rare Spring basketball doubleheader. This week we bring two home classics versus two of the better programs in BIG EAST history.
100% Cotton
In our first Flashback we go to January 19, 2013 where Ed Cooley’s Friars took on Jay Wright’s vaunted Villanova squad at the D&D Center.
The Friars came into the game with one conference win and struggled for much of the first half, shooting 20% from the field including 1-10 from 3pt land. Villanova would also struggle, shooting 47.8% from the field with zero offensive rebounds. The Wildcats went into the locker room up 31-24 at the half.
PC would begin to emerge in the second half as Bryce Cotton would go on an 8-0 run to put the Friars up after ten lead changes.
Cotton would finish with 24 points to lead all scorers and propel Providence to the 69-61 victory.
Jayvaughn Pinkston would pace the Wildcats with 20 points and Ryan Arcidiacono would chip in with 10 points and 4 assists. Villanova would commit 25 turnovers in the game which helped to seal their fate. This game would also see the emergence of Friar Freshman Kris Dunn who had a season high 13 points to go along with 7 rebounds.
Both Dunn and Arcidiacono would go on to play for the Chicago Bulls
Downtown LaDontae
The second game in our Friar Flashback doubleheader is the February 28, 2012 matchup against the UConn Huskies led by George Blaney who was filling in for legendary coach Jim Calhoun (injury leave).
UConn would suit up three future NBA players in Jeremy Lamb (Indiana Pacers), Shabazz Napier (Washington Wizards) and All-Star Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers) while PC would counter with the potent backcourt of Bryce Cotton and Vincent Council.
The Friars would struggle mightily in the first half as they could not find their rhythm on offense and were getting beat consistently in transition. They closed the first half down by 12 points, 43-31, and it looked like UConn would cruise to an easy victory. LaDontae Henton however had other ideas.
In the second half the Friars erupted from three-point range, hitting seven of them. Nobody was more effective than LaDontae, who finished the game 5-10 from downtown with 18 points, to go along with 7 rebounds.
The Friars would score 42 second half points to pull out a 72-70 victory in front of their fans at the D&D center.
Bryce Cotton would lead all scorers with 22 points, while Gerard Coleman would add a well-rounded line of 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Vincent Council would dish 11 assists to go along with 9 points and 3 rebounds.
For the Huskies, Andre Drummond would lead the way with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Jeremy Lamb would score 12 points and Shabazz Napier would contribute 7 points and 8 assists to round out UConn scoring.
Tune in to Friar Flashback
Saturday, May 9th:
Providence vs. Villanova (1/19/13)Â 2:00pm
Providence vs. UConn (2/28/12) 4:00pm
YurView, Channel 4 for Cox RI subscribers
