Pointsfest at the Dunk; Friars Outgun Dartmouth 100-82

Well, I think it’s about time I spring 10 bones a month for the All-Access pass. I thought I could get by with ChannelSurfing.net, but I missed almost a quarter of the game tonight when the entire site took a dump on itself.  That’s all fine and dandy for a cupcake game in mid-November, but I can’t be having that for the more important non-conference games.  Plus, the window is the size of my pinky toe, and the loudness of the audio makes my ears bleed even though the volume is at %1.  Oh wait, All-Access blows ass sometimes too — I remember missing the first half of our season opener last year.  Look, I’m not trying to use an illegal service to save money, I just want to watch my fucking team play basketball.  The fact that I can’t pay for a service on my REAL tv to watch ALL the games from my one team is just stupid.

Anyway, I saw enough of the game to see Dartmouth hit a shitload of open threes while simultaneously fouling a Friar every chance they could get.  When the smoke cleared, SEVEN PC players scored in double figures (Jonathan Kale must feel quite left out), lead by a career night from Sophomore Marshon Brooks who had 18 points.  He could have had a nice cool twenty-spot, had he not missed a wide open dunk on a fast break near the end of the game.  Oh you wise fool.

Hanke had a solid game with 16 points (6-7 from the field) and 9 rebounds.  He seems to always shine in these cupcake OOC games eh?

Brian McKenzie filled out the stat sheet out of respect for the late Geoff McDermott, getting 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

On to the “Four Factors”!

Stats by StatSheet.com

The foul line was a big factor in the game, as Dartmouth committed 32 fouls, sending Providence to the line 46 times (30 in the second half).  Even though they only hit 31 (for 67.4%), the Friars only had 13 fouls, which resulted in 14 Dartmouth free throw attempts.

Despite the success on offense and on the glass (26 ORB vs Dartmouth’s 12), the Friars should be concerned with the defensive effort letting Dartmouth score 82 points in 80 possessions.  Alex Barnett was as good as advertised (he will be up for player of the year in the Ivy League), hitting 5 three pointers on his way to a game high 28 points.  PC was able to force a lot of turnovers early on with their press, but Dartmouth was able to stay out of “blow-out” range for most of their game with their hot shooting from behind the arc (12-26).  Some pesky freshman named Trotter was 3/4 from downtown, and a sophomore, Ronnie Dixon, was a perfect 3 for 3.

Stats by StatSheet.com

ROSTER NOTES

1. Alex Kellogg was in uniform for the game.  His MRI turned out OK.

2. Bilal Dixon did not play (possible redshirt?)

3. All 4 Walkons came in for the last minute (Baudinet, Beloin, Burchett, Heine). Connor Heine scored a bucket for the team’s 100th point of the game.

CONTRATULATIONS

1. Keno Davis, for your first win ever at Providence College!

2. Weyinmi Efejuku for becoming the 38th Friar to reach 1,000 career points!

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. What’s the deal with McDermott?

2. Are we really redshirting Dixon? AND Peterson? Um, what?

3. Where are my kegel muscles?

AROUND THE INTERWEBS

Friars.com recap

StatSheet.com Boxscore

CBS Sportsline recap

Projo.com - Brooks has coming out party for PC in win over Dartmouth

Projo.com - A Band of Eight gets the job done

McNamara’s Post-game blog entry

FoxSports recap

Sports Network Recap

BIG EAST TIDBIT

1. St. John’s lost to BC tonight! Yay, we aren’t the only BIG EAST team to lose this year!

OVERALL

Overall, I’m happy with the win.  Yeah, Dartmouth is a horrible team and we let them score 82 points.   Obviously it’s a concern, but their offense made some improvements and they cut down on their turnovers in the second half of the game.  Two more games of improvements during the cupcake games, and they will be ready for Anaheim!. I’d like to see more consistency in the half-court offense, but I like how they were aggressive and got themselves to the line frequently.   Curry still seemed rusty again, so he’s got a few games to get back into the grove.  McDermott?  Well, to be honest I’m not really sure what’s going on with him.

PC’s next game is Thursday Night at 7PM vs. Sacred Heart.