Halftime Score

• Notable Stats: Rodney Bullock 18 points on 7/9 shooting and 6 rebounds, Ben Bentil 7 points on 3/4 shooting, Kris Dunn 8 points and 6 assists

Halftime Impressions

Whistles. Lots of them. It’s clear the emphasis on hand-checking and whatever else the NCAA has decided will increase offensive flow is back and the refs are blowing their whistles early and often through the first 20 minutes. The Friars were called for their 10th team foul with 5:42 left in the half.

In terms of the actual play I have been impressed with Rodney Bullock who has shown an array of moves, both in the post and off the dribble from the elbow. He even nailed a 3-point jumper. He had a few rusty moments but clearly has a nose for the ball on rebounds and could turn into a nice weapon for Ed Cooley.

The freshmen all played — in fact all 13 players made appearances in the first half — and they each had nice moments. Ricky Council had a few out of bounds plays ran for him. Ryan Fazekas confidently knocked down a 3-point jumper on his first attempt. Drew Edwards got fed from Kris Dunn on a pair of nice layups. Quadree Smith picked up 2 fouls — one on a moving screen which is another point of emphasis for the zebras — but grabbed a couple rebounds.

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Mike Hopkins

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