Orange Crush: Syracuse Too Much for PC

It almost seems like the Big East scheduling committee decided to play a cruel joke on the Providence College Men’s Basketball Team. After undoubtedly their biggest win of the year over then-No. 19 Connecticut, the Friars were sent packing to take on a talented Cincinnati team as well as the No. 4 Syracuse Orange over the span of just four days. Two losses later and facing the prospects of having to run the gauntlet of playing four top-10 teams over their next five games, things are suddenly not looking so bright in Friartown.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Friars traveled to the always rowdy Carrier Dome to take on what is arguably the most well-rounded team in the country, the Syracuse University Orange. The Orange entered the game having won its previous eight games and 21 of its first 22 games overall. A win against Providence would give ‘Cuse their best start ever, and they made sure to seize the opportunity in front of their hometown fans.
Throughout the first half of play the Friars hung tough, but were clearly out-matched in certain areas of the game; namely, low-post play. Hall-of-Fame Head Coach Jim Boeheim did an excellent job of drawing up a gameplan that focused on getting the ball to big man Arinze Onuaku early and often.

Despite the best efforts of Bilal Dixon ’13, Onuaku overpowered the red-shirt freshman on the low blocks, scoring 10 of the Orange’s first 18 points to help Syracuse race out to an early 18-8 lead. With the game looking like it could be headed for an early rout, the Friars battled back thanks in large part to the play of Vincent Council ’13.

Council, who has played like an experienced senior for most of the season, did an excellent job breaking down the trademark Syracuse 2-3 zone and finding open teammates. With Providence trailing 19-12, Council either assisted or scored on seven out of the Friars’ next eight scoring possessions and then capped the half off by making four straight free-throws to bring the Friars within three at 37-34 as the half-time horn sounded.

The momentum and swagger that PC showed at the end of the first half certainly did not carry over into the second half. After a careless turnover by Brian McKenzie ’10 coupled with two quick Orange baskets, Providence found themselves on the wrong end of a 9-0 Syracuse run which pushed the Orange lead to 46-34. The early Syracuse run was pretty much all she wrote for the Friars. The Syracuse lead would balloon to as many as 19 points before the Orange secured an 85-68 win.

Despite the  obvious disappointment of the second half, not all was lost for PC. As mentioned earlier, Council once again put forth an impressive performance, finishing the game with 16 points to go along with nine assists and five rebounds. Jamine “Greedy” Peterson ’12 and Marshon Brooks ’11 joined Council in double-figures scoring, finishing with 25 and 14 points respectively. Once again, “Greedy” made a case for belonging on the All-Big East team, hauling in 11 rebounds and adding another improbable dunk to his growing collection of highlight slams.

Prior to heading up north to Syracuse, PC paid a visit to the midwest on Saturday, Jan. 30, to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. Right from the start it was clear that neither team was intent on playing too much defense.

Providence knocked down its first six shots from beyond the three-point arc to propel them to an early 22-16 lead just 5:27 into the game. Any coach would be ecstatic with 22 points in such a short time frame. The only problem was that the Bearcats were still nipping at the Friars’ heels.

Both offenses continued to pour in shots at an alarming rate for the rest of the first half. Sharaud Curry ’10 was pure on a number of bombs from well beyond the three-point stripe and Duke Mondy ’13 also connected on a couple of attempts from long-distance in the first half. As the half came to a close, the Friars and the Bearcats were knotted up at 44 a piece.

The two squads continued to trade punches over the first eight minutes of the second half until Cincinnati reeled off an 11-0 run to open a 10-point lead with 9:22 remaining. With the Bearcats holding to a comfortable 11-point cushion with 1:20 to play, the game started to take a strange twist, eerily similar to the Friars’ game against USF just a week earlier.

Cincinnati went ice cold from the foul line, while Curry looked like Dominique Jones reincarnated, scoring 11 points over the course of just 62 seconds to bring Providence to within three, 91-88 with 0:08 left. After Cincinnati’s Jaquon Parker missed the first of two free-throws it looked like karma might just deliver the Friars a miraculous win. However, Parker sunk the second and with it dashed PC’s comeback hopes, as Cincy solidified a 92-88 win.

For the game, the Friars had four players reach double-figures in scoring. Curry led the way with a career-high 27 points including going 5-10 from downtown. Following Curry was Peterson with 19 points and Brooks and Council with 12 and 11 points respectively. After an 0-2 week, the team now stands at 12-10 overall and 4-6 in the Big East, good for 11th place in the conference.

Looking to bounce back, Providence returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 6, when they take on Marquette at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center at 12:00 p.m.