Stat Leaders

• Providence and Houston Baptist met for the first time ever to open the 2017-18 season in the first regular season game played at Alumni Hall in 45 years and it was all part of the 2017 2K Classic that will take Providence to Madison Square Garden next week to face Washington and then either Saint Louis or Virginia Tech.
• After a comfortable first 20 minutes that saw the Friars get out to a 19-point lead, the Friars extended their lead in the second half to as many as 30. The game was never truly in doubt once Providence got up by double digits in the first half. There were plenty of positives, but also some things that will need to be cleaned up when the Friars take on #15 Minnesota on Monday night.
• Isaiah Jackson played well, doing a little bit of everything for Providence. He ended up with 11 points and 4 rebounds on the night. The most noticeable number for Jackson was his 3/4 performance from beyond the arc.
• Rodney Bullock was very quiet in 28 minutes of action. He finished the game with 7 points and 6 rebounds, but didn’t score until just under 15 minutes left in the second half when he went 1/2 at the free throw line. His first field goal was a 3-pointer with 11:26 left in the game. Bullock will be needed this season and the Friars can’t afford many halves with a scoreless Bullock.
• Alpha Diallo had an up and down game, finishing with just 8 points in 24 minutes. He also added 5 rebounds.
• Kalif Young showed much more in this game than he did in the three exhibition contests. Young scored first for Providence in each half and finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes.
• Kyron Cartwright had a relatively pedestrian night in the opener despite finishing with a double-double. Cartwright had 10 points and 10 assists in 28 minutes.
• Maliek White was aggressive and looking to score the ball early and often coming off the Providence bench. That will be his role this season for the Friars. White scored 13 points on 5/7 shooting in 18 minutes of action.
• The trio of freshmen were very impressive. Makai Ashton-Langford was the first player off the Providence bench in both halves and he played a fair amount of his time in the game alongside Kyron Cartwright. Ashton-Langford looked confident and comfortable on the floor and finished with 8 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Nate Watson was a bully down low, grabbing 6 rebounds and scoring 9 points. Dajour Dickens made his presence felt immediately when he slammed home a dunk on his first offensive possession after entering the game after the under-4 media timeout in the first half. Dickens finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block. All told, the three Friar freshmen showed why they have bright futures. Fans should consider the opponent in this game and take another look on Monday night against a team that has a chance to contend for a Big 10 title.
• It was nice to see Drew Edwards return to the lineup after missing all but 8 games last season due to complications from knee surgery he had in June after his freshman season. Edwards had 4 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes.
• Jalen Lindsey didn’t dress for this game as he is dealing with a knee that kept him out of practice until Wednesday of this week. He’s expected to play Monday night against Minnesota.
• We had a Tom Planek sighting and the senior even scored a bucket, much to delight of the home crowd. Freshman walk-on Andrew Fonts also some some action at the end of the game.
• Houston Baptist was led by true freshman and former Butler commit David Caraher. Caraher was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points on 7/13 shooting in 31 minutes of action in his first ever college game. No other Husky was in double figures.
• Senior center Josh Ibarra was largely held under wraps and also dealt with foul trouble at times throughout the night. He finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls.
• The Friars play #15 Minnesota at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Monday as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The game tips at 6:30pm EST. The game will be on FS1.

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Mike Hopkins

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