Friars Lose Fourth Straight

The Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated by the Xavier Musketeers (8-8, 2-3 BIG EAST), 85-65, on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. The Friars fell to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in BIG EAST play. Graduate student Josh Oduro (Gainesville, Va.) led the way for the Friars with 20 points. Junior Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) chipped in with 18 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

“We weren’t the team we wanted to be today,” Head Coach Kim English said. “We have to improve and go on the road and play a lot better on Wednesday.”

FIRST HALF:

Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.) made a short-range jumper for the Friars’ first basket. Xavier jumped out to an early 9-4 lead.
Oduro and Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Friars their first lead of the game. After a 12-2 scoring run midway through the half, PC led 16-11.
Xavier’s Desmond Claude was the first player to enter double figures, opening the game 4-5 from the field, including two three-pointers. He entered halftime with 19 points.
At the 9:10 mark, Pierre connected from three-point territory to extend the Providence lead to double-digits, 28-17.
The Musketeers answered with a 7-0 surge to cut into the lead. Corey Floyd, Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) halted the scoring drought with a triple from the left wing.
Xavier went on a 13-1 run to regain the lead before halftime. Ticket Gaines (Buffalo, N.Y.) buried a triple before the buzzer sounded to cut the PC deficit to one.
PC trailed 41-40 at halftime.
Providence shot 15-29 (51.7%) from the field, 7-17 (41.2%) from three and 3-5 (60.0%) from the free throw line.
Xavier shot 17-34 (50.0%) from the field, 5-11 (45.5%) from three and 2-4 (50.0%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:

Xavier opened the half on a 9-0 run, holding the Friars scoreless for over three minutes. At the 16:39 mark, Carter put the Friars on the board with his second three-pointer of the game. PC trailed 50-43.
The Friars missed 10 of their first 11 shots, with eight misses coming from three-point range. •The Friars endured a four-minute scoring drought. Stretching back to the first half, Xavier was on a 33-7 run.
The Musketeers outscored the Friars 23-5 in the first 8:27 minutes of the half. Xavier led 64-45, their largest lead of the game.
After struggling early in the half, the Friars found a rhythm with a scoring run of their own (10-2). Oduro converted back-to-back three-point plays, finishing through contact and connecting at the free throw line. The Friars cut the deficit to 11.
Xavier held a 16-point advantage, 71-55, with 7:15 remaining.
At the 2:27 mark, Xavier’s Trey Green iced the game with his fifth three-pointer of the game.
NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS:

Providence finished 21-53 (39.6%) from the field, 8-30 (26.7%) from three and 15-22 (68.2%) from the free throw line.
Xavier finished 32-63 (50.8%) from the field, 12-24 (50.0%) from three and 9-12 (75.0%) from the free throw line.
The Musketeers out-rebounded the Friars by nine, 38-29.
Xavier scored nine more points off turnovers and six more points in the paint.
Xavier’s Trey Green finished with a game-high and career-high 23 points (9-14 FG, 5-8 3P), including 18 in the second half. Desmond Claude finished with 21 points, including 19 in the first half.
Xavier’s 12 made three-pointers is the most allowed by the Friars this season.
Attendance – 12,348
WHAT’S NEXT:

The Friars will travel to Chicago, Ill. to take on the DePaul Blue Demons (3-13, 0-5 BIG EAST) on Wednesday, Jan.17 at Wintrust Arena. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. ET on FS1.
Providence leads the all-time series record against DePaul at 38-13. Providence has won 15-8 games on the road against the Musketeers.