Poor First Half Costs PC, Fall 83-70 to St. John's
GoLocalProv Sports Team
Poor First Half Costs PC, Fall 83-70 to St. John's
See the five takeaways slideshow below.
"I didn't think we played well early, I can't tell you the last time we gave up ten 3's, I don't think we were urgent enough," Friars head coach Ed Cooley said after the game.
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St. John's took complete control of the game in the first half after the Friars had tied the game at 24, the Red Storm went on a 15-0 run to up up 39-24 in the game. The Red Storm would lead 42-30 at the half and shoot 55% from the field and 61% from three-point land. St. John's averages five three-pointers per game this season, they made eight in the first half.
Comeback falls short
In the second, PC came out with a better defensive effort and managed to get within three points, 53-50, with eight minutes left but the Red Storm killed the Friars momentum, going on a 12-3 run to go up 65-53 with five minutes to go. PC would not get closer then eight points the rest of the way.
Leading the way
LaDontae Henton led Providence with 22 points on nine of 17 shooting from the field. Kris Dunn followed up with 17 points and ten assists however he had five turnovers in the game.
The Red Storm were led by D'Angelo Harrison who netted 20 points on seven of 14 shooting from the field while Phil Greene IV poured in 20 points as well for the Red Storm.
Next up
The Friars return to action on Saturday night when they visit Creighton. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
For a further look at the Friars loss, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
Five Takeaways From The Friars 83-70 Loss to St. John's
Ben Bentil
One positive for the Friars in this game was the play of Ben Bentil who's minutes continue to increase from game to game.
In 28 minutes, Bentil netted eight points and pulled down a team high ten rebounds for the Friars, four of which came on the offensive end.
Bentil also added one block and one steal to his stat line.
LaDontae Henton
LaDontae Henton led the Friars with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field however went 1-for-5 from the foul line and had three turnovers.
Henton has been in double-figures for the Friars in ten straight games and 16 of the 18 games PC has played so far this season but has not shot all that well over the last few games.
In the last four games, Henton has gone 9-of-22, 6-of-14, 4-of-16 and tonight 9-of-17 but still has managed to carry the Friars.
Kris Dunn
Kris Dunn has had a week so far in which he was named Big East Player of the Week and named to the mid-season All-American second team by Sporting News.
In the first half of this game, he did not look like any of those, turning the ball over four times in the first half and only netting in four points. In the second half he pulled it together, only turning the ball over once in the half and getting himself a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.
The Friars now go on the road to Creighton and road games is where Dunn has had some major turnover issues. Kris Dunn will have to come up big on Saturday night for the Friars.
Free throw shooting
The Friars made only 14 of their 25 shots from the line for a shooting percentage of 56%.
Missing free throws was costly and missing them at inopportune times made things even worse.
The Red Storm went up 56-50 with eight minutes to go in the game and Kris Dunn got himself to the free throw line. Dunn missed the front end of the one and one. St. John's came down and drilled another three-pointer to go up 59-50. A five point swing.
LaDontae Henton was 1-of-5 from the line while Ben Bentil went 2-of-5.
Poor defense
PC's poor performance in the first half ended up costing them this game, especially on the defensive end.
Coming into the game, St. John's averaged about five three-pointers per game and in the first half, they drilled eight of them and ten total.
St. Johns shot 59% from three-point land for the game and 61% in the first half. The Red Storm also shot 55% from the field in the first half and 51% for the game.
The Friars were about a step slow defensively the entire first half and it cost them, St. John's got comfortable and stayed comfortable for the majority of the night.
