Marquette Earns Road Upset Over #8 Providence At The Dunk

Providence College Press Release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 8/9 Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated by Marquette, 65-64, on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The Friars moved to 14-2 (2-1 BIG EAST), while the Golden Eagles improved to 11-4 (1-2 BIG EAST).

Sophomore Ben Bentil (Wilmington, Del.) led all in scoring with 28 points, while also registering nine rebounds and two blocks.  Junior Kris Dunn (New London, Conn.) registered 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and five steals.

Marquette led for the entire first half with its largest lead of 12 points coming with 8:31 left, 22-10.  The first half ended with Providence trailing, 30-24.  Dunn contributed 10 points and four assists in the first half, while Bentil added six points.  Marquette’s Henry Ellenson led all in scoring in the first with 11 points, he also added five rebounds, two blocks, and one steal.

The Friars came out of the half with energy. With 12:22 left in the game, Dunn shot a 3-pointer to tie the game at 44.  It was the first tie of the game.  With 9:56 left in the game, Bentil scored back-to-back shots for the Friars to get the first lead of the game for the Friars, 50-46.  The Friars went on a 14-4 run to get an eight point lead, which was the team’s highest lead of the game for Providence.  Bentil scored all 14 of the points in that run and had 22 points in the second half alone.

With 3:53 left in the game Marquette’s Jajuan Johnson tied the game with a layup, making the game 58-58. 

The Friars held a three-point lead with 1:27 left in the game, but a dunk from Marquette’s Luke Fischer and a layup from Duane Wilson with 31 seconds left in the game gave Marquette the lead, 65-64.  Providence had the ball after a timeout with 24 seconds left but was not able to get a shot off as the team suffered its first loss at home this season.

The game saw two lead changes and three ties.

The Friars will return to action with an away game on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at Creighton in Omaha, Neb.