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The Defense Did It; Friars Rally Past Butler

Dunn Butler

After almost a year and a half of searching for some sort of winning combination, former Providence head coach Tim Welsh took a chance on a defense-first lineup in February 2003. The Friars were 3-7 in the Big East, riding a three game losing streak and trailed at St. John’s 36-20 late in the first half. Welsh came out of the locker room and decided to sit the likes of Maris Laksa, Chris Anrin and Tuukka Kotti and pulled 6’11 Marcus Douthit out of the doghouse he’d been residing in for over a year.

The results were instant. Providence went on a 26-6 run, pulled away from the Johnnies and won eight of their final 11 games that year behind defense and grit. They carried that momentum into the following season and shot their way up the national rankings and into the NCAA Tournament.

Fast forward 12 years to Tuesday night’s 66-62 win at Butler. Ed Cooley’s Friars are in a completely different place than Welsh’s group in ’03. They were 11-4 coming in, are fresh off of a Big East title, and the five-some that clawed their way back into this one may not see the floor again together all season, but PC was punchless for the second straight game and Cooley decided it was time for drastic measures.

He sat three starters for the entire second half, gave another regular just a brief cameo, and decided to ride with Kris Dunn, LaDontae Henton, Paschal Chukwu and seldom used Junior Lomomba and Ted Bancroft.

The result? A seven point halftime deficit turned into a four point victory thanks to a level of grit that had been missing throughout PC’s two game road trip.

Here are some takeaways from this one:

1. What a breakout performance for Paschal Chukwu. I was on an island in the preseason in worrying about rebounding shortcomings in the wake of Kadeem Batts’ graduation. This concern was only heightened when reports came out that Henton would potentially spend time at guard this season.

The rebounding woes reared their head in the first half of this one. Butler grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and held a decisive 20-12 advantage on the glass.

Enter Chukwu, who finished with nine rebounds (five on the offensive glass), blocked two shots and calmly sank a pair of free throws to turn a two point lead into an insurmountable four point advantage in the closing seconds.

It’s impossible not to be encouraged by the effort of the 7’2 freshman. He had a big block with roughly two minutes left to play and most encouraging, he rebounded well in traffic against a Butler team featuring the league’s leading rebounder.

After being out-rebounded by eight in the first half, PC finished with a 36-32 advantage on the glass thanks in large part to Chukwu’s effort.

2. Bancroft and Lomomba’s fire. Cooley’s decision to come out of the locker room with these two might have seemed like a gimmick to get his regulars’ attention, but the duo spread a bit of grime on the Hinkle Fieldhouse floor and made an impact that went far beyond the box score.

Bancroft helped set the tone early, diving for a loose ball to keep a possession alive. He spent much of the second half covering Roosevelt Jones, who the Friars had trouble keeping out of the paint early. Jones finished 5-18 from the floor and Bancroft was a big reason why.

And maybe it’s time for Friartown to learn Lomomba’s name. He spent a large portion of the second half on Kellen Dunham, who was fresh off of a 28 point explosion against St. John’s. Lomomba and Dunn harassed Dunham into a 6-16 night.

In 41 combined minutes, Bancroft and Lomomba turned the ball over just once between them.

3. Dunn’s will was on display. Dunn was dropped to the floor at the end of the first half after a hard foul on a drive to the basket. It was the first of a few occasions in which PC’s floor general stayed down for a bit after getting walloped.

Dunn was physically exhausted in the second half, and had occasional turnover issues, but he was the best player on the floor, doing a bit of everything on Tuesday night. He scored 25 points on 8-15 shooting, got to the line for 14 free throws, blocked two shots, handed out six assists and grabbed eight rebounds.

So often in the pre-Cooley era, the Friars let games like this one slip away, but Dunn sets a competitive tone for the Friars and Cooley sent a message: if you aren’t going to compete with Dunn and Henton I’ll find someone who will.

4. Bulldogs on lock down. The offense came and went for Providence, but how’s this for a defensive effort? Butler’s top three scorers from the field shot 6-16, 5-18 and 0-6 from the field.

And after being out-rebounded by eight in the first half, PC held a 24-12 rebounding edge in the second.

With the win Providence improves to 12-4 on the season and picks up their first road win of the season. They are only the second Big East team to win a game on the road in conference play and according to RPIforecast.com their RPI currently stands at 18th nationally.

Twitter: Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

20 Comments

  1. Derec Lamendola

    January 7, 2015 at 5:25 am

    LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Amd Coach Coolley Going Make The Dance This Year IM PUMT PUMT PUMT PUMT WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK HARD Get IN This And This US PURT Derec Lamendola ON YOUBTE Ans Becuase Providnce College Friaras Going All Awere This Year And We Can GO OUT Thery Wing All This Year 2015 BIG East I KNOW We CAN Providencd Colllege Friars Very STRONG Team I Love Mersazde She MH Gril Friend She PUMT PUMT IM PUMT PERKIKITS PERKIRTS Evvery Weeek Evveey Weeek Evevry Weeek Every Weekend

  2. Aaron Colaiacomo

    January 7, 2015 at 6:02 am

    Ted new starter?

  3. Michael Caldwell

    January 7, 2015 at 7:11 am

    Coach Cooley is a great great coach you will get after while

  4. Joshua Michael Corrente

    January 7, 2015 at 10:03 am

    Wow- great win…..interesting move by Coach Cooley to see soph. Lomboma getting some minutes- maybe adding some aggression defensively in the forecourt.

  5. Janice Vines Gouveia

    January 7, 2015 at 11:39 am

    GO FRIARS!!!!!!

  6. Janice Vines Gouveia

    January 7, 2015 at 11:39 am

    GO FRIARS!!!!!!

  7. Darlene Calise

    January 7, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    Good for you Friars!!!!

  8. Darlene Calise

    January 7, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    Good for you Friars!!!!

  9. Darlene Calise

    January 7, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    Good for you Friars!!!!

  10. Kathleen Aube

    January 7, 2015 at 1:20 pm

    Great win for the PC Friars! Go Friars! Looking forward to Saturday at the Dunk!!!

  11. Stephanie Damiani

    January 7, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    Hope so!

  12. Russell J. Moore

    January 7, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    Kris Dunn did it.

  13. Vance Morgan

    January 7, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    Most important win of the year. Four of the next five games are at home–time to go on a run!

  14. Jeremy Nunes

    January 7, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    I kept waiting for Cooley to put the starters back in and to his credit he never wavered. A great team win by the bench and of course Dunn and Henton

  15. Tom Zwolenski

    January 7, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    Let’s GO FRIARS

  16. Tom Zwolenski

    January 7, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    Let’s GO FRIARS

  17. Dennis Cleary

    January 7, 2015 at 4:19 pm

    Onions!

  18. Dennis Cleary

    January 7, 2015 at 4:19 pm

    Onions!

  19. Jeff Hoyle

    January 7, 2015 at 4:21 pm

    The old coaching adage that offense wins games, defense wins championships.

  20. William Henry

    January 7, 2015 at 5:40 pm

    A great come from behind victory. It is Big East time which means time to show your toughness.

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