PROVIDENCE, R.I. – This was what a rivalry game is supposed to be. It looked like, felt like, and was a rivalry game all the way through. You could feel it right away, with the sold-out crowd’s energy in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center even before the game started. That included the visiting team’s own student section and cheerleaders.
In fact, at times it wasn’t just the teams competing on the court in Providence’s 66-65 win over Rhode Island on Saturday. During some timeouts, the fans appeared to be competing with each other, and it wasn’t always the home team whose fans were louder. The Providence fans didn’t really come alive until the second half, even though the Friars had the lead at times in the first half.
Then there are the interesting ties between the teams, which helps make any rivalry even better. There were a few of those, too, like Providence assistant Pat Skerry now being on the other side of this rivalry after spending three seasons at URI and recruiting many of the Ram players in Saturday’s game, for one. There are good friends on opposing teams, like the top scorers in the first half in URI’s Jimmy Baron (16 points) and Providence’s Weyinmi Efejuku (15).
Ah yes, the game play. That, too, made this feel like a rivalry game. A back-and-forth first half included 15 lead changes and eight ties, many coming in the first 12 minutes. There were times in the first half when it seemed like Baron and Efejuku were trading baskets, as if to see who could top the other. Momentum could have swung with each lead change, but never did.
And while there were plenty of ties and lead changes but little defense, one couldn’t help but like the way the game went. It had a flow, without a lot of fouls called, although the latter was reflective in part of the lack of defense either team played. But it was as highly competitive as one would expect a game between arch-rivals would be.
The second half was a major contrast to the first, as the game took a complete turn into a grind-it-out game. The competitiveness didn’t go down, but it certainly had a different look to it. The teams went cold for a couple of minutes, and for a few minutes of game action the Rams had a larger lead. Still, except for about 3-4 minutes of game action, the game had a margin of three points or less. And all along, the teams had moments of trading quick baskets, going right at each other.
Even when the Rams opened up the seven-point lead early in the second half, you never quite had the feeling the Friars were out of it. Even though Providence’s early season play has left more questions than answers, this is a rivalry game, meaning you throw that all out the window.
It felt enough like a rivalry game that the winning coach, a part of the rivalry for the first time, understood it well.
“I thought the rivalry between the two teams deserved that kind of fight for 40 minutes,” said Providence head coach Keno Davis.
Davis noted how the game came down to a defensive stop, one that had some dramatic moments. It’s ironic, but fitting, considering neither team put on a defensive clinic although they were better in the second half. Right before that, Geoff McDermott made two key free throws after shaking off plenty of nerves. What was he thinking before them, you ask?
“Don’t airball, to be honest with you,” said the senior forward, who has struggled from the foul line. “I forget who called timeout, I couldn’t think right then. I was just nervous, my hands were shaking, sweating.”
But when it was all over, and his team came out on top, he put the game, the rivalry, and what’s next for his team, all in perspective.
“It was a great game from the beginning, there was never a big lead,” McDermott said. “What more can you ask for before you go on a break for finals?”
Fans of the game of basketball would have to come away with similar sentiments.
