PC Loses Big East Championship Heartbreaker, Falls 76-66 To Villanova
Sunday, March 11, 2018
The Providence College Friars suffered a heartbreaking 76-66 overtime loss to Villanova in the Big East Championship game on Saturday night at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Providence is now 2-1 all-time in Big East Championship games.
"I saw Kyron [Cartwright] grow up more. I saw [Alpha] Diallo grow up. I saw Nate Watson grow up. I saw some guys come together at the right time and hopefully next week we can continue to play that way," said PC head coach Ed Cooley in his post-game press conference.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Friars will now wait to see where they are seeded in the NCAA Tournament.
Friars Fall in OT
The Friars trailed 65-64 in the overtime period when Villanova’s Donte DiVencenzo grabbed an offensive rebound and found Mikal Bridges for a three to put the Wildcats up 68-64 with 2:17 to play.
Villanova grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in the game, and outrebounded the Friars 41-36 overall.
The Friars cut the lead to two, 68-66, but Villanova’s Jalen Brunson converted a jump shot to push Villanova’s lead back up to four, 70-66, with 1:18 to play.
The Friars would not score the rest of the way as Villanova would go on to win 76-66.
Providence was led by Alpha Diallo who poured in 22 points, while Kyron Cartwright followed up with 19 points.
Friars Rally in 2nd Half
Providence trailed by as much as 12 points, 43-31, in the second half before rallying to take their first lead of the game, 52-51, on a three-point play by Drew Edwards.
Villanova would score the next five points capped off by a Bridges three off of an offensive rebound to take a 56-52 lead with 5:36 to play.
Providence would rally to take a 60-58 lead with 41 seconds left in the game.
However, Villanova would tie the game on two free throws by Brunson with 30 seconds left after a foul was called on Diallo.
Providence had the final possession of regulation, but a Cartwright jump shot just missed, sending the game to overtime.
"If you told me in September we'd be playing in this game with the ball to win a postseason championship, I'd sign up for it. We got the shot we wanted in regulation," said Cooley.
Related Slideshow: Providence College Basketball 2017-18 Projected Starting Lineup
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