PC Beats Northwestern, 5-0 on the Season
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Providence College men’s basketball is now 5-0.
The Friars beat Northwestern University, 77-72, on Monday in the Roman Legends Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The Friars shot 48% (14-29) from the three-point line.
The win is the 1,500th all-time victory in program history.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGraduate student Nate Watson scored a team-high 16 points. Junior Jared Bynum added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
"I thought we showed resilience and maturity when the game got close," Head Coach Ed Cooley said. "The three-ball can make or break you, and tonight it made us."
GAME STORY
FIRST HALF:
Watson scored the opening basket of the game.
Bynum scored the next eight points for the Friars. Providence took an early 10-2 lead.
Watson scored on back-to-back possessions to force a Northwestern timeout at the 10:58 mark. The Friars held a double-digit lead, 19-6.
With 6:53 remaining, Bynum finished in the paint to end a four-minute scoring drought for the Friars. The Friars had missed their previous six shot attempts. PC led 21-12.
Ahead of the final media timeout of the half, junior Brycen Goodine (New Bedford, Mass.) knocked down two consecutive three-pointers. The Friars held a 30-17 lead.
"I have the confidence in myself and my teammates that we can hit shots," Goodine said. "Tonight we proved that."
In the final stretch of the first half, the Wildcats went on an 8-0 scoring run to decrease their deficit to six points.
Bynum and Northwestern's Boo Buie each reached double figures before halftime.
The Friars held the lead at halftime, 36-27.
Providence shot 14-28 (50.0%) from the field and 8-16 (50.0%) from three. The Friars did not take a free throw in the first half.
Northwestern shot 11-26 (42.3%) from the field, 3-8 (37.5%) from three, and 2-2 (100%) from the free-throw line.
SECOND HALF:
Watson completed the alley-oop from Bynum with a highlight dunk. The Friars preserved their lead, 48-35, through the first media timeout of the second half.
Heading into the 11:49 timeout, Northwestern was on a cold streak from the field. The Wildcats had missed six of their last seven attempts and had not scored in nearly four minutes.
At the 18:22 mark, A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.) connected from three-point territory. The Friars had their largest lead of the game, 18 points.
The Wildcats responded with a 9-0 scoring run to reduce their deficit to nine, 55-46.
With 4:12 left to play, Northwestern's Pete Nance knocked down a mid-range jumper to cut the Friars' lead to six points. On the ensuing possession, Noah Horchler (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) answered with a three-pointer. The Friars maintained the lead, 65-56.
Northwestern went on a 7-0 run in just 17 seconds with 0:36 remaining. Providence led by only five, 70-65.
The Friars sealed the game from the free throw line.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The Friars lead the entire game.
Five players finished in double figures for the Friars, in Bynum, Al Durham, Goodine, Horchler, and Watson.
The Friars out-rebounded the Wildcats by eight, 36-28.
Goodine went 4-5 from the three-point line, scoring a career-high 12 points.
Horchler registered a game-high seven rebounds.
Durham finished with a game-high and career-high seven assists.
Boo Buie led the way for the Wildcats with a game-high 23 points. Pete Nance added 20 points for the Wildcats.
This marked the Friars' second win versus a Big Ten team this season, as the Friars won at Wisconsin, 63-58, on Nov. 15.
With the win, Providence now holds a 33-31 all-time record against the Big Ten.
NEXT GAME:
The Friars will take on the University of Virginia in the Championship game of the Roman Legends Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Friars hold a 3-4 all-time record against Virginia. In their last meeting, the Friars lost to the Cavaliers, 63-52, on Nov. 26, 2016, in the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Fla.
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