Cotton Sizzles, Friars Falter in Chestnut Hill

Providence may have had the best player on the floor on Saturday afternoon, but Boston College’s Ryan Anderson and Oliver Hanlan were head and shoulders above anyone else on the Friars’ roster as BC won 71-68 in a tightly-contested game.

Bryce Cotton had perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 33 points in a variety of ways – making seven shots from beyond the three point arc, swooping through the lane on scoops, and taking the ball end to end late – each play seemingly bigger than the next, as the junior nearly willed the Friars to their first road win.  Motivation was certainly there for the Arizona native.  Coming out of high school it appeared as though he may end up at Boston College, but that fell through late with word floating in some corners that while his assistants were high on Cotton, BC head coach Steve Donahue was not sure if he was a fit for his system.  Upon committing to Providence Cotton was quoted as saying he looked forward to taking on the Eagles.

While Cotton may have proven a point, Donahue and the Eagles got what some would consider a surprising victory.  BC had previously lost to a Bryant team that Providence thrashed, and needed overtime to dispatch of New Hampshire.  Still, BC came into this game with two very solid, and young, pieces in place in freshman point guard Oliver Hanlan and sophomore forward Ryan Anderson.  The duo took turns making the Friars pay on Saturday.

Hanlan Gets Off Early

The first half was Hanlan’s time to shine.  The Canadian point guard was one of Friarbasketball’s favorite prospects in the class of 2012 after a pair of very good seasons at New Hampton Prep.  He took his game to another level last year, and on a team with Noah Vonleh and Jared Terrell he was more often than naught the best player on the team.  He was the best player on the floor in the first half Saturday afternoon.

Hanlan had 11 points by halftime highlighted by a pair of corner threes (after which he turned and gave the PC bench the business) and a nifty baseline drive that led to an easy layup.  Even when he wasn’t hitting he was drawing traffic.  On one drive in particular he missed a layup, but drew three defenders leading to an easy tip-in.

The game was tied at 36 at the half and Hanlan’s aggressive start seemed to give BC much-needed confidence after they struggled so badly against New Hampshire.

The second half turned into a duel between Cotton and Anderson.  Anderson scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, seemingly all either at the rim or from the free throw line.

In what Ed Cooley deemed “a pathetic performance”, Providence had a chance to tie the game with 2:45 on the clock, but a Josh Fortune layup rolled off and BC recovered and was immediately fouled and sent to the free throw line.

With under two minutes remaining Cotton hit a monster three pointer to cut BC’s edge to just one at 64-63, but Anderson was left alone at the rim with 1:30 left to push the lead back to three.  Cotton badly missed a contested three, and Hanlan hit a free throw to push the advantage back to four.  After Cotton made a pair of free throws with under a minute to play Anderson again found himself near the basket for an easy look with 23 seconds left to put the nail in the coffin.

Cooley: Friars “Terrible in Every Facet”

For Friartown, the loss served as a bit of a reality check, as expectations seemed to rise in the wake of Kris Dunn’s 13 assist debut on Tuesday night.  The freshman showed flashes against BC, but as Cooley noted after the game, he’s only had four full contact days of practice and two games under his belt.

That wasn’t all Cooley shared afterwards, as he called the defeat “as bad of a loss as I’ve ever coached.”

He gave credit to BC, noting that was the best he’d seen the Eagles play all year, but was clearly frustrated with his group’s effort, “Credit to Boston College.  I thought we weren’t physical.  We were lackadaisical.  I thought they beat us in every facet of the game.”

“We didn’t do anything well today,” he continued.  “A systematic team beat an athletic team today.  We were terrible in every facet of the the game.”

Rapid Reaction:

1. How many big plays did Cotton make?  After Anderson riled up the BC contingent (maybe 40% of the crowd) with a thunderous dunk that gave the Eagles a 48-46 lead with under 11 minutes to go Cotton countered with a three pointer in which he was fouled to give PC the lead right back.  Providence was down four with just over four minutes left when BC broke out, looking to push the lead to six, but Cotton came up with a steal on the baseline, weaved through the defense and finished a 90 foot drive with a difficult layup.  His three pointer with under two minutes to go that cut the lead to one was indicative of how he just wouldn’t let Providence go away on a day in which his team was subpar.

2. How much more aggressive were the Eagles than Providence?  They took 27 free throws, while Providence wasn’t in the bonus until ther were 57 seconds remaining in the second half.

With Kadeem Batts battling through foul trouble before fouling out with five minutes to play, and LaDontae Henton struggling through a 1-8 day, the Friars went perimeter-heavy on offense, as Henton, Sidiki Johnson, Brice Kofane and Lee Goldsbrough combined for just nine points against a less-than-formidable frontcourt.  PC shot just 36% from the field.

3. Hanlan finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

4. When Hanlan was having his way with PC early, Cooley turned to Ted Bancroft for a defensive lift.  He got it.  When Bancroft entered the game Providence trailed by six with 7:23 remaining.  Four minutes later, PC led by three.

5. Star 2014 recruits Kaleb Joseph, Jared Terrell and Abdul Malik-Abu were in the building.

6. This game was won at the free throw line.  Nearly every statistical category was even (field goals made, three point field goals made, turnovers, assists), but  BC took 27 free throw to the Friars’ 19.  They were the more aggressive team attacking the rim, specifically Anderson who took 13 of his own.

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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