#11 PC Falls to #3 Villanova 72-60
Sunday, February 07, 2016
The #11 Providence College Friars (18-6, 6-5 Big East) fell 72-60 to the #3 (20-3,10-1 Big East) Villanova Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The loss is PC's fourth home loss of the Big East season and second loss in a row.
"The team's psyche right now, we have to see where it's at. This is a little bit of adversity we are hitting so we will see what we are made of. We have to go on the road and play at Marquette where we haven't won in god knows how long. It is one of those moments where you have to be disciplined, have a simple message to your team, it's a long season, we are still in good shape," said Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley after the game.
See the Five Takeaways Slideshow Below
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Friars got as close as 5 points, 58-53 with 5:16 to play after a Ryan Fazekas three after trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half.
However, Nova's Kris Jenkins came down on the next possession and buried a three to put Nova's lead back up to 8 points.
The Friars would get it to six, 63-57, after a Ben Bentil three but missed two chances to get closer on the following possessions.
Villanova would increase their lead to 14 in the final minute on the free throw line and seal the win.
The Friars and Wildcats split the season series.
Slow Start
The Friars got off to another slow start, going down 10-0 in the opening minutes of the game before finally making a field goal.
The Wildcats would lead by as much as 19 in the first half as they shot 40 percent from the field.
Providence shot 23 percent from the field,including 27 percent from three, in the first half and trailed 31-19 at half time.
The Leaders
The Friars were led Ben Bentil who poured in 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field.
Kris Dunn followed up with 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting from the field but turned the ball over 6 times.
Next up
The Friars return to action on Wednesday, February 10 when they visit Marquette. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.
See the Five Takeaways Slideshow Below
Related Slideshow: 5 Takeaways From PC’s 72-60 Loss to Villanova
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