Friars Take Care of Business Against Stony Brook

Providence was having a lot of trouble early against Stony Brook on the defensive glass. The Seawolves seemed to be getting second and even third chances by rebounding their misses against Providence’s zone defense. Ed Cooley was clearly frustrated and went to freshmen Paschal Chukwu and Ben Bentil early on to try to add length and toughness inside. Chukwu continued to play well and has shown improvement each time he has been given an opportunity to play more minutes. Bentil rush a few shots early at the rim but settled in and finished some nice passes from both Kris Dunn and Kyron Cartwright before nailing an open 3-pointer in the second half.

Kyron Cartwright was very impressive coming off the bench for Ed Cooley with 10 points and 10 assists in 21 minutes. 6 of his 10 points came on 2/2 from beyond the arc and those are the first 3-pointers he has made this season after starting 0/18 through the first 10 games. Kris Dunn continued to play under control most of the day and he finished the game as Providence’s second leading scorer with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Dunn did most of his scoring damage at the free throw line where he was 9/10. Providence shot 75% (21/28) from the line as a team.

Carson Desrosiers had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 blocks as he continues to be very serviceable for Cooley while the Friars wait for Chukwu and Bentil to continue their growth and progression. LaDontae Henton led the Friars with 19 points and looked more comfortable letting the game come to him most of the afternoon.

Providence was able to empty their bench in this game with all 13 dressed players getting game action including freshman Tyree Chambers who made his college debut after missing the first 10 games due to a leg injury. It was also nice to see Jalen Lindsey bury a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.

Stony Brook was led by a game-high 25 points from Carson Puriefoy who was unconscious at times and scored most of his points on contested shots. The Seawolves leading scorer coming into the game, Jameel Warney, was limited to just 8 points and shot 4/17 from the field.

Providence will have a week between games as they prepare for semester final exams that begin Monday. Ed Cooley will give his Friars off until Tuesday to rest their bodies and study for finals. The Friars welcome UMass to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center for their final home game of the non-conference schedule on December 20th.

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Mike Hopkins

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