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Diallo Notches Double Double in Friar Win

Cooley Georgetown

It’s all starting to come together for Alpha Diallo.

The sophomore guard was expected to be Providence’s breakout performer after a strong finish to his freshman year, and after a pair of quiet games to kick off the year, Diallo has turned it on of late.

In Wednesday’s 88-84 victory over Rider, Diallo notched his first career double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds — seven of those boards came on the offensive glass. He added three blocks and a steal for good measure.

On a team led by seniors, Diallo provides a steady hand inside and out. He plays with great composure and has terrific hands in grabbing rebounds in traffic. Diallo was at his best in the second half when he made all three of his field goal attempts, knocked down 3-4 from the free throw line, scored nine points, and grabbed six boards.

Diallo and Rodney Bullock (23 points, six rebounds) were the difference in this one, as Rider simply didn’t have the wings to match up with them on the interior. Diallo has now scored in double figures in five straight games, shooting over 60% in four of those contests.

Veteran Heavy in the Second Half

Much has been made of the Friars’ depth this season, but the rotation narrow down. Cooley inserted Jalen Lindsey into the starting lineup last week and leaned heavily on his veterans in a back-and-forth second half against Rider.

Lindsey played all 20 minutes in the second half, while Kyron Cartwright, Bullock, and Diallo all went 17 minutes or more. After seeing big minutes earlier in the year, Isaiah Jackson didn’t play in the second half, while Nate Watson (4) and Kalif Young (6) combined for 10 minutes between them in the final 20 minutes. Watson and Young’s minutes were most likely limited in an attempt to match up with a smaller, fast Rider club.

The Broncs scored at will for the first 15 minutes of the second half and finished with 53 second half points on 7-12 shooting from deep, before PC eventually gave themselves some breathing room late.

Maliek White played seven second half minutes, while freshman Makai Ashton-Langford provided a big lift in his eight minutes in the closing stanza. Ashton-Langford scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, including a clutch corner 3-pointer in a one possession game.

With fewer than ten collegiate games under his belt, Ashton-Langford looks comfortable and assertive. As advertised, he’s a difficult layup maker.

Free Throw Line Discrepancy 

Rider scored 34 points in the paint, connected on 9-19 from 3-point range (47%), ripped down 14 offensive rebounds, and made 17-18 at the free throw line. Freshman Jordan Allen was an impossible cover late, scoring 21 of his game high 28 points in the second half. This is a good offensive club.

They weren’t good enough, however, to overcome the Friars’ advantage at the free throw line. Providence shot 35 free throws to their 18. PC struggled to convert (24-35, 68%), but made enough of them to hold off a game Rider group.

Reeves Big Debut

2018 Providence commit A.J. Reeves showed why he is considered a top 60 national recruit in Brimmer and May’s season opener at Worcester Academy. Reeves scored 35 points, as Brimmer cut a 22 point lead to six before falling late.

David Duke kicked off his season today and did this:

Reeves and David Duke will both play twice at St. Andrew’s in Barrington this weekend.

Holt’s Season Done

Providence made it official today and announced that senior Emmitt Holt’s season is over after offseason abdominal surgery. Holt was outstanding after transferring in from Indian Hills last season, and will reportedly play a redshirt senior season next year.

From the school:

Providence College men’s basketball Head Coach Ed Cooley announced today (November 29) that senior forward Emmitt Holt (Webster, N.Y.) has taken a personal leave from the team this semester.  Holt will return to the team in January.  It is expected that Holt will use this season as a red shirt year and will return to the Friar lineup next season. 

“Emmitt is one of our team’s most consistent and experienced players, but more importantly, he is an outstanding person,” Cooley said.  “We look forward to his return.”

Holt has missed all of the Friars’ games this semester due to an issue with his abdomen.

Last season, Holt was second on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.4).

2 Comments

  1. Derec Lamendola

    November 30, 2017 at 3:11 am

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