Friars Save The Day For RI Hoops

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

At about 6:30pm Saturday night, it looked like it was going to be a rough weekend for the four division 1 men’s college basketball programs in Rhode Island. And, of all teams, it was the PC Friars who saved the day.

It all started just before 4pm. Brown had lost at Yale 59-51 to drop to (7-9) overall and (0-2) in the Ivy League. Unlike every other league in college basketball, an early season loss in league play can be devastating in the Ivy League because it is the only league which does not have a postseason tournament. Because of that, the regular season champ gets the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament making every regular season game important.

Shortly after the Bears setback in New Haven, Jim Baron’s Rhody Rams (12-7, 3-2 A-10) blew an 11-point lead over LaSalle with 10 minutes to play at the Ryan Center and found themselves trailing by 3 with :28 seconds to play at the Ryan Center.

After two Marquis Jones free throws with :14 seconds left, Rhody trailed by 1. The Rams forced a turnover with :11 seconds left and had a chance to pull out a dramatic victory. But Jones (15 pts) missed a three and Delroy James (11 pts, 14 reb) missed a put-back attempt as time expired and the Rams fell to the Explorers 76-75. The state of Rhode Island was (0-2) for the day.

Not too long after that, the Bryant Bulldogs (6-14, 4-4 NEC) had a chance to run their win streak to 5 games at the Chase Athletic Center in Smithfield. The 4-game winning streak was Bryant’s longest since making the jump to division 1 and, like URI, the Bulldogs blew an 11-point lead to their opponent.

Northeast Conference foe Monmouth came in riding a 5-game losing streak and looked like it walk away with a win in regulation. But Raphael Jordan nailed a three at the end of regulation sending the game to overtime.

Jordan’s three was one of a school record 17 for Bryant in the game. Freshman Matt Lee has six of them on his way to a 26-point performance. Senior Cecil Gresham knocked down 7 treys and also finished with 26 points for the Bulldogs, but it wasn’t enough. Bryant fell in overtime 81-76. The Ocean State was (0-3).

Off to the Dunk. Former Friars coach Rick Pitino had never lost to PC since leaving the school in the late 80’s and didn’t figure to do so Saturday. Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals came in ranked 15th in the nation and were facing a Providence team that was hoping to avoid its 18th consecutive loss against Big East competition.

Third year coach Keno Davis seemed oblivious to the rumblings of Friar fans unhappy with the direction of the program.

With just over 2 minutes to go in the first half, Providence trailed Louisville 43-35. But a 4-0 run to close the half and a 9-1 run to start the second half gave Friar fans hope that PC could pick up its first Big East win of the season.

Tied at 61 with 3:30 to play, Marshon Brooks (27 pts) knocked down a three putting PC up 64-61. Louisville, known for its 3-point shooting, missed 5 treys in the final 2 minutes giving Providence (12-8, 1-6 BE) its first conference win of the year and salvaging what otherwise would have been a black Saturday for Rhode Island’s division 1 college basketball programs.