Jayden Pierre and Alyn Breed provide the type of spark Ed Cooley has been looking for in the second half against Columbia
Midway through Providence’s 78-64 victory over Columbia, it appeared as though we were going to see a repeat of Wednesday night versus Merrimack, when the Friars won behind sheer size, athleticism, and talent, as opposed to playing with force or imposing their will on an opponent.
The Friars were a 22-point favorite against Columbia at home on Saturday, and led 38-28 at halftime thanks to a late spurt. That lead was trimmed to six at 47-41 with 13:34 to go in the second half, which is precisely when Alyn Breed and Jayden Pierre provided the type of spark that has been missing for much of the season.
Breed keyed an 8-0 Providence run over the next two minutes — a run in which he first assisted on a Bryce Hopkins bucket and then scored three straight baskets of his own over the next 1:15 of game action. By that point, PC pushed ahead 55-41, which was followed by 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by Pierre and Breed to make it a 61-43 game with 10:01 on the clock.
“I think Breed may have played 12 minutes and he changed the entire game in a two minute span,” Ed Cooley said following the win. “I think he made three straight baskets. Game. Set. Match.”
It wasn’t just that Breed scored four baskets during that stretch — he also had a pair of assists, hit the glass, and came up with a steal in a span of five minutes.
Then there was the freshmen Pierre. His numbers were terrific (13 points, 5-8 from the field, 3-3 from three, two assists, zero turnovers in 21 minutes), but beyond the numbers, the Friars simply seemed to play with a bit more pop with Pierre on the floor.
And that’s just what Cooley has been preaching for the better part of two weeks now: who is going to provide this team with energy?
“The two guys at the podium (Breed and Pierre) changed the game with energy, and that’s something we’ve been working on — energy, excitement, enthusiasm.”
Cooley admitted that it has been challenging for him to bring his typical positive energy with the mistakes he is seeing on the floor (“I’ll admit, it’s been rough seeing what I’m seeing out there”).
Saturday certainly wasn’t perfect. Cooley was frustrated by “probably eight to ten breakdowns” on the defensive end, being outscored in the paint 36-34, and at one point called his team’s defense “horrendous” before sharing that if his team is going to win at a high level its defense will need to improve “by about 1000 percent.”
Regardless, in his quest to find energy-givers, Cooley sounded quite pleased with the efforts of his backup guards.
He recalled how Breed was on the floor in the final minute against Texas Tech last year (Breed drew a charge that essentially sealed one of the great victories of the season), and touched on his clutch play in triple overtime against Xavier — explaining how the staff has a lot of trust in him.
As noted a number of times here this season, Pierre plays with the type of confidence perhaps not seen out of a Friar freshman point guard since Kyron Cartwright in 2014.
When asked about his transition to college, Pierre seemed unfazed by playing at this level, “It’s been pretty smooth, honestly. Probably the first couple of games there was a little adjustment, but now the coaches have given me confidence, my teammates give me confidence, and now I just feel like I’m just hooping.”
Pierre played at a national powerhouse at Long Island Lutheran, and matched up against elite competition from throughout the country. Those experiences have seemingly helped build his confidence.
“I feel like I’ve been prepared. Coming out of high school, I went to a great high school, and now I’m just having fun playing basketball and competing.”
Cooley will likely take a long look at playing Pierre and senior guard Jared Bynum together more frequently. Pierre doesn’t have the experience of Noah Locke, and Locke is probably the best pure shooter on this team, but Pierre is a playmaker — and one who has kicked off his Friar career 5-5 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Would a Bynum/Pierre duo hold up defensively? We may find out soon enough.
As for Bynum, his shot wasn’t falling again on Saturday (2-8 from the field, 0-5 from deep), but he had eight assists in 23 minutes. And it seems like all of his misses from beyond the arc are rimming out.
“Jared and I had a great conversation before the game today — just infusing energy and confidence in him,” Cooley said. “He’s trying to learn a new role, which I think today he settled into. He needs to be a threat, and he also needs to be a facilitator.”
“When we get into some of these other games — when we’re getting ready to go into that lion’s den on Wednesday (at TCU), we need him to be a first team all conference player as we continue to move forward.”
The playmaking ability of Pierre could help free Bynum up some, and lessen the burden of creating for others while being the team’s featured scorer.
The Friars do have creators, as evidenced by their 21 assists on Saturday afternoon. Six of those came from Bryce Hopkins, who had five assists in the second half alone.
Providence will need an improved effort if they are to go on the road and pull off an upset of TCU on Wednesday night. The Horned Frogs are back to full strength, and did a number on #25 Iowa on Saturday night (79-66) to win the Emerald Coast Classic.
Road games against TCU and at URI’s Ryan Center will provide a challenge, but it will also be an opportunity for this group of Friars to come together and make a statement in what will be the most important week of their non-conference schedule.