Friars Reach 2-0 with Big Win

The Providence College men’s basketball team defeated the Stonehill Skyhawks (1-2), 76-49, in a non-conference match on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Jabri Abdur-Rahim (South Orange, N.J.) scored a game-high 16 points and tacked on six rebounds. Wesley Cardet Jr. (Tallahassee, Fla.) aided the team with 12 points and eight rebounds.

“We showed improvement tonight,” Head Coach Kim English said. “Stonehill challenged our defense, but our guys adjusted well and found a way to win. I’m glad we got the victory. We’ll get back to work tomorrow to prepare for Tuesday.”

FIRST HALF:

• Cardet Jr. initiated the Friars’ scoring with a layup. Oswin Erhumnwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) followed with an alley-oop dunk assisted by Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.).

• The teams went back-and-forth as they exchanged the lead six times over the first four minutes. Headed into the first media timeout (15:44), the Friars trailed by three, 12-9.

•Providence faced a scoring drought of over two minutes until Anton Bonke (Port Vila, Vanuatu) broke the silence with 14:42 remaining that closed the gap to 12-11.

• With 12:07 on the clock, Abdur-Rahim put the Friars ahead with a three-pointer to give the team a 19-16 lead.

•Stonehill responded with a quick two points, narrowing the Friars’ lead to one. At the under-12 timeout (11:13), the score stood at 19-18 in favor of the Friars.

•Towards the end of the first half, the Friars started to create some distance as Bensley Joseph scored five points that extended Providence’s lead to a game-high nine points, 29-20. The Friars were perfect from the field during a 7-0 run, with Bensley Joseph accounting for five of those points.

• The Friars went on a 13-2 run over six minutes, including a 10-0 streak in just three minutes that stretched their lead to 12 at the final media timeout (3:44), 32-20.

• Providence sustained its momentum as they brought the scoring run to 15-0 with two minutes left in the half.

• Stonehill’s Hermann Koffi finally broke the team’s seven-minute scoring drought with a three-pointer at the 1:39 mark.

• The Friars finished the half with a dominant 22-5 run over the remining 7:15.

• PC led 44-25 at half.

• Cardet Jr. And Abdur-Rahim combined for 26 of the Friars’ 44 first-half points.

• Providence shot 15-30 (50.0%) from the field, 6-15 (40.0%) from three, and 8-14 (57.1%) from the free-throw line.

• Stonehill shot 9-24 (37.5%) from the field, 4-11 (36.4%) from three, and 3-9 (33.3%) from the free-throw line.

SECOND HALF:

• The Skyhawks started the second half with a 4-0 run.

• Joseph opened the Providence scoring with two free-throws. At the first media timeout (15:44), PC led, 48-32.

• While the Skyhawks entered another scoring drought, Christ Essandoko (Clichy, France) scored an emphatic dunk that brought the teams score to 50.

• The Friars continued with a 7-0 run as they entered the under-12 media timeout (11:51). Friars led, 57-37.

•At the 8:46 mark, Joseph lobbed a pass to Erhunmwunse for another alley-oop dunk that pushed the Friars to a 61-42 lead.

• With 5:35 remaining in regulation, Essandoko delivered a powerful dunk that prompted Stonehill to call the game’s first timeout of the half.

• The Skyhawk failed to score a field goal in the final 4:38 of the game while the Friars scored their last six of seven field goal. The Friars finished on top, 76-49.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Providence finished 27-54 (50.0%) from the field, 9-26 (34.6%) from three and 13-21 (61.9%) from the free throw line.

• Stonehill finished 17-53 (32.1%) from the field, 6-21 (28.6%) from three and 9-22 (40.9%) from the free throw line.

• PC outrebounded Stonehill, 48-26.

• The Friars outscored the Skyhawks in bench points (39-17), points in the paint (34-18) and second-chance points (39-17).

• Amir Nesbitt led the Stonehill offense with 12 points.

NOTES

• Attendance: 11,027

• The Friars now hold a 6-0 all-time record against Stonehill, with all matchups taking place at the AMP.

• The Friars are now 31-6 all-time versus teams currently in the NEC.

• Kim English celebrated his 100th college basketball game tonight. He now holds an all-time coaching record of 57-43.

• Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.), Nilavan Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.), and Bonke all made their Friar debut and all recorded their first points. Mela finished with seven points and four rebounds. Daniels and Bonke registered two points each.

UP NEXT

The Friars will host Hampton University (1-1) on Tuesday, November 12 at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.

This will be the first all-time matchup between the two schools.

-GO FRIARS!-