CHICAGO, Ill.- The Providence College men’s basketball team defeated the DePaul Blue Demons (7-2, 0-1 BIG EAST), 70-63, in an overtime thriller to open BIG EAST play on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill. The Friars moved to a 7-4 mark on the season and a 1-0 mark in BIG EAST action. Seniors Bensley Joseph (Arlington, Mass.) and Bryce Hopkins (Oak Park, Ill.) spearheaded the Friar offense, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively. Hopkins dominated on defense with a game-high 10 rebounds to secure his first double-double of the season. In addition to his 20 points, Joseph also added seven assists, two steals and four rebounds, while not committing a turnover.
“Good to get our first BIG EAST win,” Head Coach Kim English said. “We battled some adversity late in the game and adjusted accordingly. I thought our group showed great resilience and found a way to win. This is a great DePaul team and to hold them to 32 percent shooting on the night is credit to our defensive effort. I thought it was our most locked-in game defensively this season. We still have some things to work on and will keep making steps in the right direction going forward.”
FIRST HALF:
• Hopkins opened the scoring for the Friars with a three. The Blue Demons responded with a three-pointer of their own to tie the game.
• Joseph and Wesley Cardet Jr. (Tallahassee, Fla.) hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Friars a 9-5 advantage as they headed into the first media timeout (15:11).
• Coming out of the first timeout, Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.) scored four straight points contributing to a 7-0 Friars run extending the lead to 13-5.
• Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) capped the Friars’ 9-0 run with an emphatic put-back dunk. DePaul responded with two straight baskets to cut the Friar lead to 15-10 leading into the under-12 media timeout (11:37).
• Joseph ended a Blue Demon scoring run with a layup coming out of the under eight media timeout.
• A Friar scoring drought led to a nine-point deficit (20-29) leading into the under four media timeout.
• The Friars gained momentum in the closing minutes of the half. With 47 seconds remaining, Hopkins sank a corner three to complete a 7-0 run that narrowed the deficit to three at 30-27.
• Providence entered halftime trailing 30-27.
• The Blue Demons were held scoreless in the final 3:45 of the first half. They missed their last six field goal attempts and made only one of their final nine shots.
• PC held a 21-19 rebounding advantage over DePaul, including a 17-13 edge on the defensive glass.
• Hopkins was the only Friar to reach double figures in the first half with 11 points.
• Providence shot 11-28 (39.3%) from the field, 5-16 (31.3%) from three, and 0-0 (0.0%) from the free-throw line.
• DePaul shot 11-33 (33.3%) from the field, 6-14 (42.9%) from three and 2-5 (40.0%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:
• Cardet Jr. started the half by scoring a jumper after a steal by Joseph (18:47).
• Moments later (18:30), Joseph added a basket to level the score at 33.
• The Friars reclaimed the lead at 35-33 with a layup from Hopkins heading into the first media timeout (16:36).
• Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) converted a fast-break three-point play that extended the Friar lead to 40-35 with 13:00 on the clock.
• The Friars led by three, 40-37, entering the under-12 media timeout (11:55).
• DePaul’s CJ Gunn broke the Blue Demons’ nearly five-minute scoring drought with a quick layup, but Erhunmwunse responded immediately with two dominant dunks. The Friars led 44-39 with 10:11 remaining in regulation.
• Providence endured a two-minute scoring drought which allowed the Blue Demons to close the gap to 44-43 heading into the under-8 timeout (7:58).
• DePaul extended its scoring surge to 7-0 to take a 46-44 lead.
• The teams began to trade baskets which resulted in two lead changes within a minute.
• The Blue Demons seized momentum with an 8-0 run to take a 54-48 lead with 5:22 remaining that prompted a PC timeout.
• Jabri Abdur-Rahim (South Orange, N.J.) hit a three from deep to bring the score within five, 56-51. Joseph followed up on the next possession with a layup to make it a one-possession game and force a DPU timeout. With 2:33 left to play, the Friars trailed 56-53.
• Coming out of the timeout, Hopkins scored a layup to complete a 7-0 run for the Friars, cutting the deficit to one at 56-55 (1:32).
• With 53 seconds left, Pierre sank a clutch three to tie the score at 58.
• Both teams failed to score in the final seconds of regulation which sent the game into the Friars’ first overtime of the season.
OVERTIME:
• Erhunmwunse started the overtime scoring with an emphatic dunk.
• The Friars held a slim 62-61 lead leading into a DePaul timeout with 2:23 left in overtime action.
• Both teams experienced scoring droughts that lasted over two minutes. Joseph ended the Friars’ dry spell with a reverse layup.
• With 29 seconds remaining, Hopkins delivered another clutch basket, to extend the Friars’ lead to two possessions at 66-61.
• Hopkins and Pierre flushed four more free-throws to clinch the win. Friars finished on top, 70-63.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Providence finished 28-63 (44.4%) from the field, 8-26 (30.8%) from three and 6-9 (66.7%) from the free throw line.
• DePaul finished 22-67 (32.8%) from the field, 11-33 (33.3%) from three and 8-15 (53.3%) from the free throw line.
• Four Friars scored in double figures: Bensley Joseph (20), Bryce Hopkins (19), Jayden Pierre (11) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (10).
• Hopkins secured his and the Friars’ first double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Joseph recorded zero turnovers on the night.
• The Friars out rebounded DePaul 45-36.
• The Friars outscored the Blue Demons in second-chance points (10-2), bench points (15-12), points in the paint (38-22) and fast-break points (11-7).
NOTES
• Attendance: 3,548
• The Friars have now registered a 41-13 mark all-time versus DePaul.
• The Friars are now 17-8 all-time versus DePaul on the road, including wins in each of the last five games.
• Tonight marked the first time the Friars opened the BIG EAST season versus DePaul.
• This was the first overtime game for the Friars since February, 7 2024 when the Friars defeated the No. 19/18 Creighton Bluejays, 91-87, in Providence, R.I.
UP NEXT
The Friars will continue road play when they face the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in a 2024 Hall Of Fame Showcase game on Saturday, Dec. 14 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m. on CBSSN.
The Bonnies hold an 11-12 all-time series edge over the Friars. This marks the first neutral-site matchup in the history of their rivalry. The last meeting between the two schools was on January 4, 1980 at St. Bonaventure’s where the Friars fell, 75-81. The Friars last defeated the Bonnies at home in Providence on January 1, 1977, 82-75.
Providence will return to the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I., on Friday, December 20, for its BIG EAST home opener against St. John’s (7-2), with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on FOX. Tickets can be purchased at Friars.com or by calling 401-865-GOPC
-GO FRIARS!-
