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Post-NJIT Takeaways

Bentil Fazekas high five

Takeaways following Providence’s 83-76 victory over NJIT on Monday night.

Kris Dunn’s defensive greatness is almost becoming commonplace. Dunn finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and seven steals, and on a night with such a fat stat line it was his defense that stood out.

With seven more steals tonight Dunn now has 21 through four games, and that’s with zero against Illinois five days ago.

“I thought Kris was outstanding today,” said Ed Cooley. “It looked like there were nine guys out there when he was out there. What a treat it is to coach that kid. He’s special.”

Cooley talked of how Dunn not only creates havoc for opponents, but that his teammates feed off of his energy on the defensive end. Amazingly, Dunn has at least six steals in three of PC’s four games so far.

The Friars struggled from deep, but Cooley wants them firing away. Cooley took issue with just one three pointer the Friars launched on Monday, despite PC finishing just 4-20 from three point range. Cooley thought his team got great looks all night and emphasized that he wants this team shooting 20-25 three pointers a game.

After PC made 12-27 (44%) from three on Saturday versus Brown, they were unable to carry over their hot shooting. Despite that, they still put up 83 points, thanks in large part to making 25-30 at the free throw line. For a group that has struggled at the line that was an encouraging sign.

Dunn went 9-9 at the stripe, while Bentil made 7-8.

Jalen Lindsey and Ryan Fazekas combined to make 7-11 from three against Brown, but they finished 2-11 on this night.

Junior Lomomba has the trust of the coaching staff. Lomomba’s stats were somewhat eye opening against Brown (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3-3 from the field, 0 turnovers in 22 minutes) but Cooley said the junior guard’s value goes beyond a box score.

Cooley noted that Lomomba is a “vital piece to us” and lauded him for being a player who sacrifices  for the team every day.

Lomomba played 30 minutes and played a critical role in forcing sharpshooting Damon Lynn to 6-18 from the field.

Bentil and Bullock continue to produce. 18 points and 12 rebounds for Bullock and 19 points for Bentil, as the PC frontcourt once again put up numbers.

Bullock has 42 points and 22 rebounds over his last two games, and Cooley thinks he’s just scratching the surface. “We always thought Rodney could score the ball. We always thought Rodney could rebound the ball. He’s just getting his feet wet.”

Bullock has scored 18+ in three of PC’s four games this season, and despite his production Cooley pointed out some mistakes he made down the stretch against NJIT, emphasizing that Bullock needs more game experience.

AP Recap: http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400827697 

Box Score: http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400827697 

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