PC Trails Early and Then Blows Out Butler
Thursday, January 26, 2023
The No. 23/21 Providence College men's basketball team defeated the Butler Bulldogs, 79-58, on Wednesday at the AMP.
The Friars improved to 16-5 on the season and 8-2 in Big East play. The team also is 12-0 on the season at the AMP and 33-1 over the last 34 games at the arena.
PC is now tied for second in the Big East.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"There's nothing like playing at home," Head Coach Ed Cooley said. "It gets better and better every time we're here. Our players did a great job. When the game settled in, it was great to get Jared Bynum back involved."
Sophomore Bryce Hopkins led the way for the Friars with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Devin Carter contributed a double-double, with 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Graduate student Clifton Moore and redshirt freshman Corey Floyd, Jr. chipped in 12 points each.
FIRST HALF:
- Noah Locke buried a mid-range jumper on the first possession of the game for the Friars. Butler held an 8-5 lead at the first media timeout (15:12 mark).
- The Bulldogs expanded their lead to 14-7 with a sustained scoring run. The Friars struggled offensively during this stretch, missing three of four shot attempts.
- At the 10:47 mark, Carter intercepted a Butler pass and went coast-to-coast for the layup. On the next possession, Bynum scored his first basket in his return. PC cut the deficit to one, 16-15.
- The Friars found a spark and took control of the first half, extending their run to 15-3 with key baskets by Moore and Floyd. By the end of the run, the Friars led 24-19.
- PC led by seven, 31-24, with one minute to play in the half. Butler had not scored in over four minutes, and had missed six of their last seven shots.
- The Friars held a double-digit advantage, 36-26, at the halftime buzzer. Carter nailed a corner three-ball for the Friars in the closing seconds of the half.
- Providence shot 13-26 (50.0%) from the field, 3-10 (30.0%) from three and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line.
- Butler shot 11-27 (40.7%) from the field, 3-10 (30.0%) from three and 1-4 (25.0%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:
- The Friars outscored the Bulldogs 8-1 to start the second half. PC led 44-27.
- At the 15:50 mark, Carter found Hopkins for a wide-open fastbreak dunk. Butler's Simas Lukosius responded on the next possession with a three-pointer. PC led 48-33.
- Jayden Pierre finished a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Hopkins with 12 minutes remaining. The Friars had made seven of their last eight shot attempts and led by 17 points, 58-41.
- With eight minutes left to play, Moore stole the ball and located Carter down the floor for a transition basket. PC led 68-42.
- Eric Hunter, Jr. and Connor Turnbull were the driving forces of the Bulldogs' offense in the second half. Butler went on an 11-2 run in the final minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Providence finished 30-54 (55.6%) from the field, 5-17 (29.4%) from three and 14-18 (77.8%) from the free throw line.
- Butler finished 22-58 (37.9%) from the field, 8-19 (42.1%) from three and 6-12 (50.0%) from the free throw line.
- Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Hopkins (16), Floyd (12), Moore (12) and Carter (10).
- The Friars out-rebounded the Bulldogs by 16 (33-17) and dished seven more assists (17-10).
- PC had 12 more bench points and 28 more points in the paint.
- Floyd recorded a career-high 12 points in the game for the Friars.
- Carter, Ed Croswell and Floyd each recorded two steals each.
- Eric Hunter, Jr. led the way for the Bulldogs with 12 points.
NOTES:
The Friars are 5-0 in BIG EAST home games this season with wins over Butler, Marquette, UConn, St. John's and DePaul.
The Friars are ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and No. 21 in the Coaches Poll. It is the team's third week in the polls.
The Friars are 12-0 at home this season, 33-1 in their last 34 games at the AMP and 616-236 (.723) all-time.
Bynum returned to the Friar lineup tonight after missing the team's last four games with a torso injury.
Attendance – 10,869
NEXT:
The Friars will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on the Villanova Wildcats (10-10, 4-5 BIG EAST) on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 12:00 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center. The game will be televised on FS1.
Villanova holds a 70-41 all-time advantage over the Friars. The Friars have played the Wildcats the fourth-most times (111) of any opponent in team history.
Last season, Villanova swept the season series, winning by a margin of five points or less in each of the two games.
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