PC Loses in NIT Opening Round to Arkansas 84-72
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Providence College men's basketball season is over. The young and talented Friars team fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament by a score of 84-72 Tuesday night at the Dunk.
It was Friars' 20th appearance in the NIT Tournament and the seventh straight postseason appearance by PC. Providence finished the season with an 18-16 mark.
Alpha Diallo recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDiallo became the first Friar since Kadeem Batts in the 2013-14 season to record at least 10 double-doubles in a season.
Nate Watson and Maliek White were the other Friars in double figures. Watson scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds while White tied his career-high with 19 points.
Arkansas started 5-5 from three-point territory and 7-15 from the field to build a 20-9 advantage. The Friars scored two layups which forced Head Coach Mike Anderson to call a timeout once the lead was cut to single digits, 20-13. The Razorbacks used a 10-0 run after a Diallo dunk to increase their lead to 30-15 (7:44). Teams traded baskets up to the 3:47 mark, leaving Arkansas with a 36-22 lead.
Providence completed an 8-3 run to close the half and faced an 11-point, 42-31, hole after the first 20 minutes of play. Watson scored seven points in the first half on 3-4 shooting, David Duke and Kalif Young tallied six points apiece. The difference came from beyond the arc in the first half, as Arkansas knocked down five of their nine attempts from deep while Providence failed to make a three-point basket. The Friars outscored Arkansas in the paint, 26-20.
Arkansas outscored Providence, 7-5, to open the second half and head into the first media timeout (16:00). The Friars faced a 49-36 deficit, despite outrebounding Arkansas, 7-2, in the first four minutes.
The tough night on defense for Providence continued in the second half as Arkansas shot 8-12 from the field and 4-7 from three-point territory in the first nine minutes. Every time Providence would chip away, the Razorbacks would answer with a triple.
Drew Edwards brought the Friars within 10 after he knocked down the team's first triple of the night from the right wing. Providence trailed 56-46 with 13:46 to play but failed to cut the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the game.
Mason Jones paced the Razorbacks with 18 points and four rebounds.
