PC Friars Stunned by Brown at the Dunk
Brown news release…
Providence, R.I. – Tenacious defense and 12-of-13 free throw shooting down the stretch enabled Brown to stun defending Big East Champion Providence, 77-67, Monday evening at the Dunkin Donuts Center in the 121st meeting between the two Providence schools.
Brown improves to 5-6 with the win, beating the Friars for the second time in the last three years, and will break for the next 14 days for final exams. Providence dropped its third straight game and falls to 6-3 on the season.
“This is a great win for our basketball program against the defending Big East Champions,” said an ebullient Brown coach Mike Martin. “We have great respect for the Providence program and any time you can come down to the Dunk and earn a win takes a tremendous team effort.”
Brown led for most of the game and held a four-point margin, 60-56 with four minutes remaining. The Bears broke the game open with a 7-0 run on two free throws by sophomore guard Steven Spieth, a layup by sophomore guard Tavon Blackmon and a three-point play by Spieth with 1:38 remaining to give the Bears a 67-56 lead.
The Friars cut the Brown lead to five points, 67-62, with 52-seconds remaining, but four straight free throws by Blackmon put the game out of reach.
The Bears were led by sophomore forward Leland King, who netted 16 points. Junior forward Cedric Kuakumensah had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Spieth threw in 15 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, and grabbed six rebounds.
Blackmon played the point for the Bears and may have been the difference in the game with 11points, seven assists, and just two turnovers against the Friars pressure. He also forced Friars high scoring guard Kris Dunn into six turnovers. Sophomore guard JR Hobbie chipped in with 13 points, all from beyond the three-point arc.
The Friars were led by LaDonte Henton and Kris Dunn with 16 points each.
With the score tied, 30-30, at the half, Brown built a 44-38 lead with 10:28 remaining following a four-point play by sophomore guard JP Hobbie, who was fouled on a made trey and converted the free throw.
Providence quickly answered to tie the score, 44-44, with a 6-0 spurt, but back-to-back treys by Kuakumensah and King put the Bears back up by six points, 50-44.
With the Bears holding a 62-56 lead, its defense forced a five second call on the Friars with under three minutes left on the clock. A driving layup by Blackmon put the Bears up by eight, 64-56 with 2:00 left.
Spieth converted a three-point play to lift the Bears to an 11 point advantage, 67-56, with 1:38 left on the clock.
The Bears were the aggressors in the early stages of the game, grabbing a 17-9 lead with 13:30 left in the half behind Kuakumensah’s 10 points.
Both teams battled evenly over the next seven minutes, but the Bears maintained their eight point advantage, 25-17, on a trey by senior Rafael Maia with 7:00 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
A 13-5 spurt by the Friars to close the half knotted the score, 30-30, at intermission, despite Brown holding the lead for nearly 15 minutes.
Brown will break for the final exams for the next 14 days and return to action on Monday, December 22 at Central Connecticut. Tip-off is 2pm.
