PROVIDENCE – Providence men’s basketball’s final tune-up was just that.
Oswin Erhunmwunse sparked Providence’s blistering of visiting Harvard in the first 20 minutes. The big man was better than any option the Crimson had, and showed it from the jump with a put-back dunk for Providence’s opening score.
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The easy points will be forgotten as the winter months near, but Erhunmwunse’s effectiveness should play when conference games arrive. He finished with 12 points on only six attempts as Providence secured an 85-77 exhibition win on Saturday evening, Oct. 25, at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Jason Edwards led Providence with 16 points, Jaylin Sellers added 14 and true freshman Jamier Jones had 14 in just 15 minutes. Providence, after losing to Pittsburgh in its first exhibition match on Oct. 19, now opens its non-conference slate at home against Holy Cross on Nov. 3.
“I thought we didn’t play our best in these two games, but I feel like we learned a lot,” Providence head coach Kim English said. “Some areas were better today than we were against Pittsburgh, and like a boat with a lot of holes, we learned some new things we’ve got to continue to improve upon.
“It’s going to be a lot of attention to defense over the next week.”
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Daquan Davis was inserted into Providence’s starting lineup after Corey Floyd was unavailable with a right leg injury. Floyd, who started against Pittsburgh, should be available for the start of the season.
“It was more precautionary,” English said of Floyd’s absence. “I think he could have went, but he’s feeling something in his upper right leg.”
Rich Barron, another returnee, was also unavailable for Providence as the junior is in the concussion protocol. Ultimately, Saturday was a controlled environment, in which the Friars were never threatened and the final result didn’t matter. But after Providence used 12 different starting lineups in last year’s 20-loss season, continuity in the rotation is a necessity.
“As we looked at the inventory of the plethora of our turnovers from last season, it wasn’t from playing with pace,” English said. “It was from a slow-tempo pace. We’re trying to go, and we practice that way and we prepare that way.”
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In a normal setting, Jones (5-of-6 shooting) would have gotten more than 15 minutes. Between the 6-foot-6 wing and Sellers, Providence has far more athleticism and length than they had last winter. Jones sandwiched a fastbreak layup and alley-oop between Erhunmwunse’s layup for a quick 6-0 spurt with 7:54 left in the second half.
Friars guard Ryan Mela in action against Harvard on Saturday.
“He’s very talented, and it’s raw ability, things you can’t teach or coach,” English said of Jones.
“But it’s about the fundamental things, the details, running hard and planting a stance and boxing out. That’s my three things for Jones. If he can do those three things … he has the freedom to play and be aggressive.”
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Erhunmwunse had four offensive rebounds in the first half, and his second-chance putback at the 9:37 mark of the first half led to Providence’s 45-27 halftime lead. Duncan Powell then canned a wing 3-pointer off a turnover, and Sellers added a personal 5-0 run for a 26-16 lead after Erhunmwunse’s spark.
“[Erhunmwunse] rarely has bad games,” English said. “He had one of his worst against Pittsburgh, and you don’t see that a lot.
“With him it’s just the mindset and focus to just get better every day. Never get comfortable, just continue to improve, and when he’s on the court, good things usually happen.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence basketball cruises past Harvard 85-77 in preseason finale
