Saturday, November 18, 2017

Providence Routs Saint Louis To Win 2K Classic

Providence taking on Saint Louis. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Providence Friars rolled to a 90-63 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens to win the 2K Classic on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

They beat Washington on Thursday night, 77-70, in the semifinal to reach the championship game.

Providence was led by Rodney Bullock, who had 15 points on 4-6 from the field, including two threes, with three rebounds and three assists.



Alpha Diallo (5-8 FG, 1-1 threes), Maliek White (4-4 FG, 3-3 threes), and Makai Ashton-Langford had 11 points each in the victory.

Kyron Cartwright came close to a double-double, as he had nine points on 3-5 shooting, including a three, with eight rebounds. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley said of the win, "It’s a credit to our young men paying attention to deal in our scouting for only about four hours. It was a quick turn-around. I’m proud of the group. I thought we got better today.”

Providence shot a superb 62 percent from the field and set a school record for 3-point percentage by making 9-of-10 attempts from behind the arc.

Cooley said of their depth, "I thought our depth showed once again today. We were able to play a lot of guys and everybody who stepped on the floor gave us a big, big boost. I couldn’t be more proud of the group.”

Consolation Game: Virginia Tech 103, Washington 79
Friday night at the 2K Classic began with Virginia Tech taking third place with a 103-79 domination of Washington.

Virginia Tech led 59-28 at halftime, led by Ahmed Hill (20 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting, 5-5 from behind the arc in the first half) and Justin Bibbs (17 points, 6-9 FG, 3-4 threes in the first).

Bibbs finished with 30 points on the night to lead the way, as he shot 10-15 overall, 4-6 on threes, with an assist. Hill finished with 23 points on 7-8 shooting, a perfect 6-6 on threes, with four rebounds and two assists.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points (5-10 FG, 4-7 threes), with seven rebounds and four assists. Justin Robinson had 11 points (3-6 FG, 1-3 threes), with five assists and a rebound.

Virginia Tech Head Coach Buzz Williams said of his team's competitiveness and toughness, "I think it's a Zac Brown album, Jeckyll and Hyde, the best song on the CD is 'Honegrown.' We were Jeckyll and Hyde in New York." referring to their 77-71 loss to Saint Louis on Thursday night. "So, we've got a long way to go, but I'm pleased in how they responded collectively for sure."

Williams said of preparing the team for this one, "That we have the chance to respond. It's a quick turnaround. That's the best turnaround you needed relative to how we played yesterday (Thursday). I wanted our fight, our toughness, and our competitive spirit to be apparent from start to finish, against their zone. We've had multiple reps against Syracuse and that's how they play their zone so we kind of reviewed how we go about playing Syracuse this morning and then went through Washington stuff later this morning."


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