#20 Providence “Embarrassed” in Regular Season Finale

The No. 20/20 Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated by the Seton Hall Pirates (17-14, 10-10 BIG EAST), 82-58, on Senior Day on Saturday, Mar. 4 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. The Friars fell to 21-10 on the season and 13-7 in BIG EAST play.

“We, as leaders, need to ensure that we continue to inspire, motivate and put our players in a position to have success in our next game,” Head Coach Ed Cooley said.

Sophomore Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) had a team-high 14 points. Redshirt senior Ed Croswell (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Graduate student Jared Bynum (Largo, Md.) added 12 points.

FIRST HALF:

Croswell scored the first two baskets of the game for the Friars.
Seton Hall led 12-8 at the first media timeout (15:21 mark).
At the 14:12 mark, Jared Bynum (Largo, Md.) knocked down the Friars’ first three-pointer. It would be the only Providence three-ball of the first half.
Heading into the 10:18 timeout, each team had missed four of their last five attempts, hitting a lull on offense. Seton Hall held a slim 19-15 lead.
Croswell was the first player to notch double figures in the game, tipping in a missed three-pointer for his fifth basket. PC trailed 27-23.
The Pirates extended their lead to double digits with less than six minutes until halftime. Seton Hall was shooting over 60% from the field.
The Friars were held scoreless for over three minutes while Seton Hall went on a 9-0 run. With just over four minutes left in the half, Carter picked off an inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast for the layup.
Seton Hall extended their run to 19-4 to complete the half. The Pirates made 11 of their last 12 shots and held the Friars scoreless for the last four minutes of the half.
Seton Hall held a 19-point advantage, 44-25, heading into halftime.
Providence shot 10-28 (35.7%) from the field, 1-11 (9.1%) from three and 4-8 (50.0%) from the free throw line.
Seton Hall shot 17-26 (65.4%) from the field, 3-7 (42.9%) from three and 7-10 (70.0%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:

Bynum and Seton Hall’s Al-Amir Dawes traded triples to start the half.
At the 14:21 mark, Carter finished through contact and completed the and-one opportunity. PC went on an 8-0 run to narrow the gap to 16 points, 52-36.
Ahead of the 11:50 timeout, the Friars continued to trim Seton Hall’s lead. PC trailed 57-44 and had made four of their last five shot attempts.
With eight minutes remaining, Seton Hall led 64-46.
The Pirates held off any comeback effort by the Friars in the final minutes. The Friars ended the game on an 8-0 run.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Providence finished 23-57 (40.4%) from the field, 4-23 (17.4%) from three and 8-13 (61.5%) from the free throw line.
Seton Hall finished 30-48 (62.5%) from the field, 10-18 (55.6%) from three and 12-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line.
Three players finished in double figures for the Friars: Carter (14), Croswell (13) and Bynum (12).
The Pirates out-rebounded the Friars by a margin of 32-26. Seton Hall dished five more assists and had 15 more bench points.
Seton Hall’s largest lead was 32.
Eight of Croswell’s nine rebounds were offensive.
Dre Davis led the way for the Pirates with 24 points on 9-10 from the field. Femi Odukale and KC Ndefo added 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Attendance: 11,580
NOTES:

The Friars honored Bynum, Croswell, Noah Locke (Baltimore, Md.) and Clifton Moore (Ambler, Pa.) in today’s Senior Day ceremony.
The Friars are 15-2 at home this season, 36-3 in their last 39 games at the AMP and 619-238 (.722) all-time.
The Friars are 8-2 in BIG EAST home games this season.
The Friars are ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll. It is the team’s eighth week in the polls.
Today marked the first time this season the Friars failed to reach 60 points in a game.
Today marked the Friars’ first 20-point loss at home since 2010.
WHAT’S NEXT:

Next week, the Friars will travel to New York, N.Y. for the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The Friars will play their first game on Thursday, Mar. 9 at either 2:30 p.m. (No. 4 vs. No. 5 game) or 9:30 p.m. (No. 3 vs. No. 6/11 game) in the Quarterfinals. The game will be televised on FS1.