Reeves rescues Providence
Junior nails 3-pointer in final seconds of OT win
Junior’s big shot preserves Friar win over Seton Hall
From buried on the bench to burying the game-winning three-pointer, A.J. Reeves ran the full emotional gamut at the Prudential Center Sunday night.
With Providence in need of a warm body after Jimmy Nichols fouled out early in overtime, Ed Cooley turned back to Reeves, the junior who started his team’s Big East opener but didn’t see much action in the second half. Just like he did at Boston College (as a freshman in 2018) and at Marquette (last January), Reeves supplied a timely make from beyond the arc.
On this occasion, his connection from deep – coming with 3.1 seconds left – proved to be the dagger as PC escaped New Jersey with an 80-77 win over Seton Hall. Reeves finished with seven points in 21 minutes and couldn’t wait to travel back to Providence so he could get into the Ruane Friar Development Center and get up more shots in anticipation for his team’s next game – Wednesday at Butler.
“I think our team played really well as a whole. I was just happy to do my part,” said Reeves. “When I caught it I knew I was going to shoot it. I have confidence in myself.”
Twice, Cooley was presented with the “to foul or not to foul?” conundrum – once at the end of regulation and again as the Pirates sought to extend to a second overtime.
Seton Hall junior Takal Molson got off a good look from the right wing as the horn for the first OT prepared to sound. The ball clanked off the iron and fell out of harm’s way – much to the delight of a Friar team that’s now won three straight after a shaky showing in the relocated Maui Invitational.
“We definitely thought about [fouling up three in OT]. It was a 50/50 call. That was the longest three seconds of my life,” said Cooley.
“We are a different team from when we were in Asheville. The road win at TCU gave us some confidence, but any time you’re in a Big East game ... these games come down to one or two plays here or there. We’re fortunate as a group that we won the game.”
Now 1-0 in league play and 5-2 overall, PC’s efforts were anchored by usual suspects; Nate Watson (23 points, 11 rebounds) and David Duke (18 points, 10 rebounds). It was Duke who delivered the pass that enabled Reeves to catch and shoot as the seconds melted away in the extra session.
“He and his roommate (Duke) have really good chemistry,” said Cooley.
Nichols easily delivered his best performance in a Friar uniform, making two 3-pointers as part of a career-best 10 points. Nichols’ reward for supplying something on offense was to check Seton Hall’s talented big man Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Nichols bothered Mamukelashvili with his length, though there’s a reason why the 6-foot-11 senior is considered one of the top talents in the Big East this season. A few times, Nichols was late in reacting. That enabled Mamukelashvili to draw the contact that helped bring a premature ending to Nichols’ promising evening.
It was Mamukelashvili who pushed the game to overtime after dunking
over Nichols and drawing the foul with 8.6 seconds left in regulation. It was a disaster of a sequence for the Friars, who watched a 72-69 lead melt away after Mamukelashvili completed the three-point play.
The Friars didn’t even get a shot off as the game shifted to overtime. Jared Bynum picked a fine time to make his first three of the season, his triple supplying the first points of the extra period.
PC went back up by three at 77-74 after Duke made three at the line with 3:09 remaining. Then came another hoop-and-harm sequence that allowed Mamukelashvili and the Pirates to tie the game at 77-77 with 2:43 left.
Both sides traded a pair of misses before Reeves splashed in his second three of the game. He entered Sunday with just five makes from downtown.
“When you’re in those type of moments, there’s no thinking. You just have to kind of let it fly,” said Reeves.
The Friars appeared to be trouble after a strong start to the second half allowed the Pirates to build a 51-43 lead. PC countered with an 11-0 surge that featured a steady diet of Watson, who collected his 1,000th career point.
“He’s a weapon in there,” said Cooley about Watson. “He’s a man-child in there. We’re going to ride him until we wear his legs out.”
PC continued to own the upper hand and found itself in a good spot after Watson took a pass from Bynum and buried it for a baseline jumper that ex
tended the Friar lead to 70-66 with one minute left.
A basket and a free throw from Mamukelashvili enabled Seton Hall to jump right back into the picture but PC regained its footing when Duke sank two free throws that put his team up 7269 with 15.5 seconds remaining. That’s when Mamukelashvili went to work and delivered a sequence that gave the Pirates some momentum heading into the overtime session.
Fortunately for Cooley, his team did not crumble.
“Hopefully we can learn from this,” said Cooley. “I learned a lot about our mental toughness, our emotional composure, our emotional stability.”
RIM RATTLERS: The Friars shot 50 percent from three (9-of-18) and 81 percent from the charity stripe (13of-16). … Mamukelashvili rebounded from a slow start to lead the Pirates with 20 points. He was just 6-of-17 from the field and missed all four of his attempts from three. … The stat of the game may have belonged to Bynum, who turned the ball over just twice in 43 minutes. He dished out eight assists. … Watson became the 51st player in PC history to net 1,000 points. … Cooley’s choice of attire included a long sleeve shirt that featured a picture of the late John Thompson. … The Friars have now won seven straight league games dating back to last season.