Turnovers Doom Providence Against #19 Oklahoma

The Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated by the No.19/22 University of Oklahoma (8-0), 72-51, in the BIG EAST-BIG 12 Battle on Tuesday, December 5 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. With the loss, the Friars moved to a 7-2 overall record on the season. The Friars took their first lead of the game, 40-39, with 15:21 left in the second half but were outscored 33-11 over the remainder of the game.

FIRST HALF:
•The Sooners started the game off with nine unanswered points in first two minutes of the game to force a Providence timeout with 18:15 on the clock.

• At the first media timeout (16:01 mark), the Friars trailed, 12-0.

• Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) put Providence on the board with three consecutive three-pointers, closing the gap to three. Sooners led, 12-9.

•Oklahoma extended the lead back to six to put the game at 17-11 entering the 12-under media timeout (11:30 mark).

•Over a 6:43 minute span, the Friars went on a 13-8 scoring run led by Bryce Hopkins (Oak Park, Ill.) with six points. At the 3:14 minute mark, Josh Oduro (Gainesville, Va.) drained a field goal to put the Friars within two points, 23-25.

•Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) scored a layup with nine seconds left to close the scoring of the half. Entering the locker room, Providence trailed by four, 35-31.

•With 13 points, Carter was the lone Friar to enter double digit scoring in the first half.

•Providence shot 12-25 (48.0%) from the field, 4-11 (36.36%) from three and 3-3 (100%) from the free throw line.
•Oklahoma shot 14-30 (46.7%) from the field, 4-14 (28.57%) from three with 3-3 (100%) from the free throw line.

SECOND HALF:

•Carter opened the scoring for the Friars in the second half with a three-pointer from the top of the key.

•Over the first four minutes of the second half, Providence outscored the Sooners, 9-4. With 15:21 on the clock, Oduro flushed a fade-away jump shot to give the Friars the first lead of the game, 40-39. With the layup, Oduro entered the double-digit scoring column with 11 points.

• The game became a back-and-forth match with three lead changes over a 2:08 minute span. At the 13:39 minute mark, the Sooners led by one, 43-42.

• At the 12-under media timeout, (11:08 mark), Providence trailed, 47-42.

• The Friars endured a 9-0 scoring drought over a span of 2:27 minutes. With 5:49 left, Oklahoma led, 60-46.

•The Sooners maintained the lead for the remainder of the half. Oklahoma’s Otega Oewh scored off a three-point jumper to close the game at 72-51.

NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS:
• Carter shined both offensively and defensively, leading the team with 17 points, five blocks and three rebounds.

• The Friars scored 30 points in the paint, nine off the bench, and nine off turnovers. Defensively, Providence recorded 22 defensive rebounds, eight blocks, and four steals.

• Providence moved to a 3-2 all-time series record in BIG EAST-BIG 12 Battle matchups.

•Providence finished 21-52 (40.4 %) from the field, 5-23 (21.7%) from three and 4-6 (66.7%) from the free throw line.

•Oklahoma finished 28-60 (46.7%) from the field, 6-19 (31.6%) from three and 10-11 (90.9%) from the free throw line.

WHAT’S NEXT:

•The Friars will play Brown University in a non-conference match on Sunday, Dec.10 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.