Friars Dominate Second Half in Rout

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 28-Weyinmi Efejuku and the Providence Friars gave new meaning to the Dunkin' Donuts Center Tuesday night.

The Friars dunked seven times in their 81-55 blowout victory over Columbia, riding hot shooting to start the second half to pull away from the Lions.

Columbia stayed close throughout the first half, opening the game in a zone defense that confused the Friars' offensive sets. Columbia jumped out to the early 6-2 lead on strong interior play from junior center Ben Nwachukwu, whose layup with 17:54 left gave the Lions their biggest lead of the evening. Providence responded with a 10-3 run to give the Friars a 12-9 lead, capped off by an Efejuku three-pointer from the top of the key.

The teams stayed close throughout the rest of the first half, as Columbia took a 21-18 lead with just over seven minutes remaining on another strong inside move from Nwachukwu. After the Lions tied the game at 25 off a Niko Scott layup, Providence ended the final 2:15 on a 7-0 run, pushing the score to 32-25 at the half. Both head coaches took issue with the referees concerning questionable calls made at both ends of the floor. Despite hitting only 10 shots in the first half, Columbia was within striking distance.

"We executed some semblance of offense in the first half, and I thought we defended well, and the game was much slower," Columbia head coach Joe Jones said. "Then, in the second half, they played man [defense] and pressured us. We didn't handle the pressure well, and that led to easy buckets for them. The game got wide open."

Providence came out of the locker room and blew the Lions away in the second period, going on a 35-14 run in the first 12-and-a-half minutes. During one stretch, the Friars hit 12 of 17 shots, including 10 consecutively, with five three-pointers. Providence's success was built off of using their length in the passing lanes and reverting to a man-to-man defense that stifled the Columbia offense. The Lions responded using backdoor cuts to break away from the over-aggressive Friar defenders but failed to convert the set plays into points.

Junior forward John Baumann went scoreless for the first time this season, preventing Columbia from establishing a necessary second interior presence. In addition, 22 turnovers prevented the Lions from successfully running out of their sets.

"The turnovers really hurt us making basic basketball plays," Jones added. "Guard-to-guard passes, stepping on the line, and outlet passes-they are inexcusable turnovers we can't afford."

Freshman point guard Patrick Foley did provide a lift for Columbia during the second half as he entered the game with 16:13 to play. Foley scored seven of the Lions' next nine points over a four-and-a-half minute span, and with two more Ben Nwachukwu free throws, Columbia cut the Providence lead to nine points.

The Friars never looked back after the Lions got within single digits, stealing the momentum on multiple occasions with Efejuku alley-oops as Providence cruised to 49 second-half points and the 26-point victory.

Loose Balls…

Sophomore Joe Bova scored his first points of his Columbia career with a late second-half basket … Daniel Trepanier hit two more shots to make him a perfect 4-4 on the year … Providence blocked seven Lion shots.