Friar Basketball

Batts, PC Survive Brown

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Ed Cooley is taking a big picture look at Providence’s 73-69 victory over Brown on Wednesday night. Yes, the Friars came out of the gate strong (20-4) before eventually seeing a 17 point advantage slip away on a night in which their starting backcourt combined to shoot just 3-17 from the field, but PC’s head coach was more than happy to pull out a victory over a game Brown bunch.

“Last year we lost to Boston College in a close game. Last year we lost to Brown in a close game. So, we look at the context of everything — I’m not happy with the way we played, I’m happy that we won the game.”

It was just eleven months ago when the Bears shocked Cooley’s team, closing on a 9-1 run over the game’s final 44 seconds to pull out a 69-68 victory.

This year Brown fell just short of breaking PC’s hearts again.

Sparked by an outstanding night from senior guard Sean McGonagill (21 points, 5-12 from three point range) and the steady interior effort of sophomore Cedric Kuakumensah (16 points on 7-14 shooting) Brown erased a 14 point halftime deficit by connecting on nearly half of their second half three pointers and holding Providence to just 25% shooting over the final 20 minutes.

Brown ripped off a 12-2 run midway through the second, and took the lead on three different possessions over the final 6:12 of the game, but timely shots by the Friars and missed opportunities late did the Bears in.

Those timely shots wouldn’t have been possible for Providence if not for senior Kadeem Batts.

Batts carried PC throughout much of the second half, countering every big Brown shot with a make of his own.

After Brown took a 60-58 lead with 6:12 left, Batts hit a jumper 12 seconds later to tie it. Following a McGonagill three on Brown’s next possession, Batts put together a key sequence — blocking a shot at the rim on Brown’s next opportunity and connecting on another mid-range jumper to pull the Friars to within one with under five minutes on the clock. He then tied it at 63 with a free throw a minute later.

“You’ve got to embrace the moment,” Batts said of the back and forth final minutes. “I’m embracing this. It’s my senior year, so I’m embracing every moment. It was a very tough game, but I enjoyed it.”

“I was really proud of Kadeem down the stretch. He took charge and willed us to win,” Cooley said.

Brown, more specifically McGonagill, wouldn’t rattle. The senior made his fourth 3 pointer with 3:02 remaining to put Brown up three, only to see LaDontae Henton (he of the 37 points and six 3 pointers at Brown last season) come through against the Bears once again, this time canning a deep one to tie it with 2:24 left.

McGonagill had a chance to give Brown a three point lead with a good look on the next possession, but the shot met front iron, and after a steal of an errant Bryce Cotton pass, Brown’s Tavon Blackmon got to the rim only to miss a layup with just over a minute to play that would have snapped the tie.

That’s when Providence’s backcourt got their first field goal of the second half. Brown gave Cotton issues throughout the night, forcing him to miss all seven of his second half field goals, while Josh Fortune went 39 minutes without a point beforeĀ Cotton found him coming off of a screen with 36 seconds left for the game’s biggest shot — a Fortune three pointer that gave the Friars a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“That was a huge shot. I’m so proud of Josh for that shot,” said Batts afterwards.

After a pair of PC free throws, McGonagill nearly pulled off a second straight Brown miracle in as many years when he hit his fifth, and final, three pointer with nine seconds left, stole the ensuing inbounds pass, and front rimmed a three that would have given Brown a one point lead with three seconds remaining.

It wasn’t meant to be for McGonagill and the Bears in 2013, however, as Providence pulled out the 73-69 win.

“Don’t take anything away from Brown,” Cooley said. “They played a hell of a game. They played a great game. Those kids played hard; I like their style of play. I’ll cheer for them every game.

“We have to improve big time because right now we’re not where we need to be, and we shouldn’t be. It’s early, we’ll get better.”

Providence is where they’d want to be record-wise after two games. It took overtime against Boston College and a last second miss versus Brown, but Cooley and the Friars are taking a big picture look. They survived two games that could have had big ramifications come March — two games they lost a year ago.

 

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