PC Drops 2nd Straight, Fall 74-68 to #6 Villanova
GoLocalProv Sports Team
PC Drops 2nd Straight, Fall 74-68 to #6 Villanova
"We played on our heels for 34 minutes, we didn't attack the way we wanted to, that was disappointing," Friars head coach Ed Cooley said after the game.
See the five takeaways slideshow below.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Friars trailed by 14, 48-34, after not scoring a point for the first five minutes of the second half but battled back. With just under seven minutes to go, a steal and dunk by Kris Dunn pulled the Friars to within six, 48-42, waking up the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
However, PC would give it right back because on Villanova's ensuing possession, LaDontae Henton fouled Ryan Arcidiacono while shooting a three and Arcidiacono made proceeded to make all three free throws to push the Nova lead back up to nine. The Wildcats would get it back up to 12 at 54-42 to keep control of the game.
The Friars cut the lead to five points but with only seven seconds left.
LaDontae Henton led the Friars with 23 points, 19 of which came in the second half while Kris Dunn and Tyler Harris followed up with 17 points each.
Ryan Arcidiacono led the Wildcats with 20 points while Daniel Ochefu netted 19 points off the bench.
The Friars will look to bounce back on Saturday, January 14 when they host the Seton Hall Pirates at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
For a further look at the Friars loss, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
Five Takeaways From the Friars 74-68 Loss to #6 Villanova
LaDontae Henton
LaDontae Henton netted 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point land to lead the Friars.
Of his 23 points, 19 of them came in the second half as Villanova kept him quiet in the first, holding him to only four points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field.
Henton went 8-of-11 from the free throw line, grabbed three rebounds and also had three steals in the game.
Kris Dunn
Kris Dunn did his best to carry the Friars in this game, netting 17 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds to go along with four steals.
Dunn's 17 points came on 7-of-20 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Villanova did their best to take away Dunn as much as possible, doubling him and playing aggressively on him. Dunn struggled at times during the game, but the entire team struggled.
"I thought his stat line was more indicative of our other players not being aggressive," said Cooley after the game.
Second chance points
Providence grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the game but only managed to convert it to eight second chance points, missing a few lay ups and open three-pointers in the process.
Meanwhile, Villanova grabbed nine offensive rebounds and converted on almost all of them, netting 13 second chance points. The Wildcats were able to convert on a couple of big offensive rebounds and 50/50 balls down the stretch to stem any Providence momentum.
Ed Cooley said after the game that the Villanova definitely won the 50/50 ball battle.
Carson Desrosiers
Providence had a pretty good size advantage in this game and they only managed to win the rebounding battle by one, 28-27.
Senior Carson Desrosiers only managed to grab one rebound in the game and that came in the first half. Desrosiers had one rebound, two points, one turnover and one assist in 18 minutes of play time. His two points also came in the first half.
"Our seniors played 58 minutes and had a combined four rebounds, your not going to win doing that," Ed Cooley said after the game, the other senior being LaDontae Henton who grabbed three rebounds.
Offensive struggles
Providence struggled offensively for just about the entire game and it had a lot to do with Villanova's defense.
The Wildcats were aggressive all night, challenging just about every pass the PC made and and pressing the Friar guards in the back court on numerous occasions.
""We played on our heels for 34 minutes, we didn't attack the way we wanted to, that was disappointing," Ed Cooley said after the game.
