Friars Suffer Lopsided Loss at #21 Marquette

The Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated by the No. 21/22 Marquette Golden Eagles (21-7, 12-5 BIG EAST), 82-52, on Tuesday, February 25 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. The Friars fell to 12-16 overall and 6-11 in BIG EAST play. Junior guard Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.) led the Providence offense with 13 points and three assists while notching four rebounds. Freshman Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) anchored the Friars with eight rebounds and three blocks.

FIRST HALF:
• Bensley Joseph (Arlington, Mass.) and Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) each hit a three as PC jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Friars led 10-9 through the first five minutes of action (14:47).
• The score remained tightly contested, with seven lead changes occurring in the first nine minutes (11:19). Marquette led, 20-17.
• Momentum swung in favor of Marquette as the Golden Eagles capped off a 12-0 run with a triple. MU led 30-20 at the 8:05 minute mark.
• The Friars found a spark when walk-on freshman Nilavan Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) scored five quick points in just 54 seconds to cut the deficit to nine with 1:16 remaining in the half.
• Marquette extended its lead to 43-32 entering the locker room.
• Pierre was the lone player to reach the double-digit scoring column in the first half. The sophomore scored 10 points on a 3-5 from the field, 1-1 from three and 3-3 from the free-throw line.
• Thirty-six of the Golden Eagles’ 43 first-half points came from behind the arc.

SECOND HALF:
• Pierre kicked off the Friars’ second-half scoring with a triple.
• The Friars trailed, 52-39, at the first media timeout (13:09).
• Marquette continued to increase its lead with an 18-3 run that lasted over seven minutes. Mela snapped the surge with a driving layup. The Friars trailed, 75-46, with 4:45 to go.
• The Friars were unable to find the answer in the remaining minutes. PC was defeated, 82-52.
• The Golden Eagles finished with 17 made threes, accounting for 51 of their 82 points.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Pierre finished in double figures with 13 points for the Friars.
• Marquette’s Kam Jones and Ben Jones finished with 17 points each.
• The Friars outscored the Golden Eagles in points in the paint (24-18) and second-chance points (13-10).
• Daniels scored his first baskets in BIG EAST play tonight. The freshman finished with a career-high seven points, one rebound and one assist.

NOTES:
• PC has now registered a 15-26 mark all-time versus Marquette, including a 3-15 mark on the road.

UP NEXT:
• The Friars will return home to host the UConn Huskies in a senior day matchup on Saturday, March 1 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I.
• Tip-off is slated for 12:00 p.m. on CBS.