Oduro’s Strong Second Half Helps PC Hold Off St. John’s Tuesday

Nick Coit,

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Providence College Press Release) – The Providence College men’s basketball team defeated the St. John’s Red Storm (14-11, 6-8 BIG EAST), 75-72, on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I.

The Friars improved to 16-9 overall and 7-7 in BIG EAST play.

Josh Oduro (Gainesville, Va.) led the Providence offense with 28 points for his seventh 20-point performance of the season.

Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) anchored the Friars with 11 rebounds and 14 points. It marks Carter’s team-best eighth double-double of the season.

“Good win.” Head Coach Kim English said.  “All of these games are difficult. It wasn’t a perfect game, but we found a way to get some key stops in the waning moments to find a way to etch out our victory. I’m proud of our guys.”

FIRST HALF:
•In the Friars’ first possession, freshman Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) opened the game’s scoring with a reverse layup. The two teams went back and forth, and by the first media timeout (15:14 mark), the Friars held an 11-7 advantage over the Red Storm.
•Coming out of the timeout, the Friars continued their strong offense with a 12-0 scoring run led by Barron who had eight points. With 12:31 on the clock, Carter flushed a three from deep to force a St. John’s timeout bringing the score to 20-7.
•Red Storm came back late in the second half with a 12-0 surge while the Friars found themselves in a five-minute scoring drought. Ticket Gaines snapped the PC scoring drought with three made free throws. With 4:36 left to play in the first half, the Friars held a slim four-point margin, leading 31-27.
•Coming out of the under-4 timeout, St. John’s scored six points in the span of 42 seconds. The Red Storm’s Jordan Dingle scored a three to tie the score at 33. Shortly after, St. John’s held its first lead of the game following a layup at the 2:01 minute mark.
•The Friars failed to score in the last 3:41 of the first half.
•At halftime, the Red Storm led 38-33.
•Providence shot 10-25 (40.0%) from the field, 6-13 (46.2%) from three, and 7-9 (77.8%) from the free-throw line.
•St. John’s shot 13-31 (41.9%) from the field, 6-14 (42.9%) from three, and 6-8 (75.0%) from the free-throw line.

SECOND HALF:
•Barron initiated the Friars’ second-half scoring with a driving layup, becoming the first Friar to reach double digit scoring. The Friars continued to rally against the Red Storm, going on a 6-0 scoring drive and tying the game at 48 entering the first media timeout (15:53 mark).
•The game became a back-and-forth battle with three lead changes in the span of four minutes. The Friars found their rhythm with a 6-0 scoring run bringing them into the under-12 timeout (11:13 mark). Providence led, 58-54.
•Providence was able to maintain its lead for the majority of the second half. At the final media timeout (3:45 mark), the Friars led by three, 69-66.
•With 1:43 left to play, the Red Storm tied the game at 70. Corey Floyd, Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) responded on the following possession with layup.
•The Friars extended their lead to four with 00:41 on the clock forcing SJU to call a timeout.
• Josh Oduro scored 26 points in the second half

NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS: 
•Providence finished 24-51 (47.1%) from the field, 8-20 (40.0%) from three and 19-24 (79.2%) from the free throw line.
•St. John’s finished 28-69 (40.6%) from the field, 6-23 (26.1%) from three and 10-15 (66.7%) from the free throw line.
•Four Friars finished in double figures: Oduro (28), Carter (14), Gaines (11) and Barron (10).
•The Friars are 15-2 this season when scoring 71 or more points.
•The Friars have posted a 2-1 mark this season against former coaches (1-1 vs. Pitino, 1-0 vs. Cooley).
•RJ Luis Jr., led the way for St. John’s with 16 points (7-14 FG, 0-3 3P, 2-2 FT).
•Carter registered his eighth double-double of the season (14 pts, 11 rb).
•This is the first season Providence has faced two former Providence College coaches in the same season.
•Providence has competed against six former coaches through the years.
• Josh Oduro scored 26 points in the second half
•Attendance- 10,258

WHAT’S NEXT: 
• The Friars will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 17 when they host DePaul University at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on FS1.

•The Friars hold a 40-13 all-time series advantage over the Blue Demons. PC has posted a 21-4 mark at home. In the first meeting this season, the Friars defeated DePaul 100-62 on Jan.17 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill.

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