NEW YORK– By now, Providence should be used to the nail-biting atmosphere that has consumed the friars throughout this magical season.
The 11th ranked Friars– the regular season champion in the Big East, found a way to pull out another close game yesterday, rallying to defeat troublesome Butler, 65-61, in the conference quarterfinals at the Garden. There were 11 lead changes in this one.
Down one with 41 seconds left in regulation, forward Aljami Durham– the Indiana transfer who hadn’t made a three since January– drained a huge one from the left corner to give Providence a 62-60 lead and the Friars held on from there, thanks to two huge blocks from Justin Minaya. Providence will meet Creighton in the first semi-final Friday night.
The Friars (25-4) win the close ones. They are in 12-2 in games decided by single digits and have won three overtime games, including a 99-92 triple overtime victory over Xavier
“It wasn’t pretty out there,” Big East coach of the Year Ed Cooley said. “We definitely showed some rust not playing over the last nine days.
“And a lot of it was the way Butler defended us. But just like the season has gone, I guess we saved our best for last. Just was told Durham’s last three he made was in January. I would laugh at that, too.
“But you know what? He made it. And I trust him. He’s made some big shots for us the whole time. We didn’t play great but we did enough to win. And I think today was a microcosm of the type of season we’ve having.”
No one thought Providence would be here at the start of the season. The Friars were picked to finish seventh pre-season in the coaches’ poll. But they got it done with a roster that included five transfers among their first eight, including junior point guard Jared Bynum, the St. Joseph’s transfer who scored 16 points off the bench provided Vinnie Johnson type energy and was a second team all league selection along with 6-9 senior beast Nate Watson, who finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds as the Friars made their first appearance in the Garden in two years.
Their rabid fans, most of them subway alums, made the pilgrimage.
“i felt like I was at the Dunkin Donuts Center,” Cooley said. “Dunkin’ donuts Center South. It’s down here in New York. And I can’t be more grateful for the fan support and energy they gave the players. It was big time.”
It helped the Friars weather severe foul trouble that limited Bynum and guard AJ Reeves to 23 minutes and gave them a lift when they fell behind .59-56 with 2:36 to a team that had them down 19 points two weeks ago in Indianapolis before losing 71-70, in overtime.
