Friars Hold Off Red Storm
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In a game featuring two teams that are on the verge of turning a corner, host Providence held on late by making enough plays and free throws for a 71-66 win over St. John’s.
Both teams were playing on short turnarounds with the game starting at noon after both played Thursday night. They were also coming from opposite directions, as the Friars lost at Notre Dame while the Red Storm beat Rutgers at home.
“Sometimes it’s the best thing mentally, but physically it’s not,” said Providence head coach Tim Welsh of the short time between games. “I saw a few guys whose tanks were under a quarter today, but they fought through it.”
The first half was a two-man show, as Providence sophomore Weyinmi Efejuku (15 of his 22 points on 7-10 shooting) and St. John’s sophomore Anthony Mason, Jr. (14 of his 19 points on 6-9 shooting) combined for 29 points. Both were quiet in the second half as big men Herbert Hill and Lamont Hamilton took over, with Hill scoring 12 of his 16 points for the Friars and Hamilton scoring 14 of his 20 for the Red Storm.
Providence broke the game open at the start of the second half, taking the lead with a 14-2 run that ended with nine unanswered points. The Red Storm would challenge on a couple of occasions, but the Friars generally kept the lead between six and ten points until the final minutes.
“We didn’t come out the way we needed to come out the first five minutes of the half,” said St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts.
Adding to that, Roberts was quick to yank Avery Patterson early in the second half, and he never returned. Patterson, an excellent shooter who has helped their offense this season, never returned after that. Roberts said he wasn’t happy with how he was defending, and Patterson understood it. He was visibly frustrated at the move, knowing he wasn’t working as hard as he needed to.
The Friars won the battle inside, as they have done much of the season. They had a 34-30 edge in points in the paint, but a healthy 39-24 margin on the glass as Hill had 11 rebounds, Geoff McDermott had 10 and Jonathan Kale had 8 to out-rebound the Red Storm all by themselves.
Providence improves to 6-6 in Big East play, while the Red Storm is now 6-8. The Friars still have some work to do if they are to reach the NCAA Tournament, while the Red Storm isn’t far away from getting to the Big East Tournament. That would be a step forward from last season for both teams, as neither team made the Big East Tournament. Both teams finished tied for 13th place with a 5-11 Big East record and also had identical 12-15 overall records.
Other Notable Games
Vanderbilt 83, Florida 70: The Commodores will be in the NCAA Tournament – mark it down. This snaps Florida’s 17-game winning streak.
UCLA 81, Arizona 66: This is a home loss the Wildcats didn’t need, considering they’re already in trouble as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned.
North Carolina 77, Boston College 72: The Tar Heels had just enough to hold off the Eagles in a battle for first place in the ACC.
Virginia 73, Florida State 70: Another tough loss for the Seminoles, while the Cavaliers stay right in the race for the top of the ACC.
Pittsburgh 65, Washington 61: This would have been a much-needed quality non-conference win for the Huskies.
Stanford 88, Oregon 69: Don’t bury the Cardinal just yet. They might be a bit of a long shot for an at-large, but this win gives them more life.
Kansas 92, Nebraska 39: Just look at the score, and you know why this is a notable game.
Georgetown 58, Villanova 55: Nine straight wins for Georgetown, with this coming on the road.
Louisville 61, Marquette 59: Two big wins on the road this week for Louisville put the Cardinals alone in third place in the Big East.
Southern Illinois 68, Butler 64: The Salukis remain one of the nation’s hottest teams as they snap Butler’s 22-game home wining streak.
Memphis 78, Gonzaga 77 (OT): The Bulldogs gave a valiant effort in a game they had to have for any remaining at-large hopes.
Appalachian State 60, Wichita State 58: This big road win will get people talking about the Mountaineers, who deserve it. They are 21-6 overall and have won eight of nine.
Missouri 75, Oklahoma State 64: This was bound to happen sooner or later. Mike Anderson has done too good a job and has had the Tigers so close often this season, and this time they break through for a nice road win.
Alabama 72, Kentucky 61: Can anyone figure out the Crimson Tide? This is a good win, and we’re not knocking it, but they remain frustratingly inconsistent.
Arkansas 83, Mississippi 66: A good win for the Razorbacks over the surging Rebels.
South Carolina 81, Tennessee 64: It’s been a struggle for the Gamecocks, but this is a good home win.
Nevada 79, Northern Iowa 64: An impressive win for the Wolfpack, as they took over this game in the second half.
Drexel 64, Creighton 58: The Dragons needed this road win, another impressive one for them, to keep alive any at-large hopes they had.
Old Dominion 73, Toledo 70: The Monarchs remain hot as they win their ninth straight game.
Utah State 71, Oral Roberts 65: The Aggies take one of the more intriguing matchups of the day in BracketBusters, though this didn’t get a lot of pub.
Bradley 73, VCU 64: This pretty much kills any remote chance the Rams had of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they don’t win the CAA Tournament.
Rhode Island 86, Charlotte 69: The Rams improve to 10-3 in Atlantic 10 play and hang on to first place.
Akron 74, Austin Peay 57: This might have been the best BracketBusters win that won’t get talked about much.
Santa Clara 80, San Diego 72: The Broncos stay hot with their sixth straight win and go a game and a half up on Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference.
Penn 85, Cornell 73: With first place on the line, the Quakers take this one at home.
Yale 86, Harvard 71: The Bulldogs stay right on the heels of Penn in the race for the top of the Ivy League.
