#16 PC Snaps Home Losing Streak, Beats #18 Butler 71-68
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
#16 PC Snaps Home Losing Streak, Beats #18 Butler 71-68
"That was a great Big East game, I'll tell you, our attendance at the Dunk has been amazing, I'm so appreciative of the crowd, the energy. They helped us to win today, they willed us to win," said Friars head coach Ed Cooley after the game.
Grinding Out a Win
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWith the game tied at 66 and 1:59 to play, Kris Dunn drove to the basket and dished to Ben Bentil for a dunk with the shot clock about to hit zero to give the Friars a 68-66 lead.
"I knew he was going to make a play, knew he was going to make a play and the ball was going to go in the basket," said Ben Bentil of Kris Dunn's play.
After Butler turned the ball over on their following possession, Kris Dunn hit a straight away three-pointer to give PC a five point lead, 71-66 with 1:11 to play. The five point lead was the Friars largest of the game.
The Bulldogs would get a layup with 53 seconds left to cut the Friar lead to three, however, Butler was unable to hit a three in the final seconds to tie the game.
A Lead at The Half
The Friars trailed 30-28 with four minutes left in the first half before getting a spark from Kyron Cartwright. Cartwright hit back to back three-pointers to give PC a 34-30 lead.
PC would close the half with a pull up jumper from Drew Edwards with time winding down and take a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
The Leaders
The Friars were led by Ben Bentil who netted 20 points on 6 of 14 shooting from the field and 8 of 10 from the free throw line.
Rodney Bullock followed up with 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Next Up
Providence returns to action on Saturday, January 23 when they travel to Philadelphia to take on #4 Villanova. Tip off for that game is set for noon time.
5 Takeaways From #16 PC's Win Over #18 Butler
Rodney Bullock
Rodney Bullock had his best game in the last four games after netting 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Bullock also grabbed eight rebounds.
Bullock's games leading up to this one:
St. John's - 13 points
Marquette - 8 points
Creighton - 0 points
Seton Hall - 11 points
2nd Chance Points
Jalen Lindsey co-led the Friars along with Ben Bentil with three offensive rebounds in the game. Overall, Providence grabbed 15 offensive boards which helped them get 12 second chance points.
Butler grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and got 8 second chance points out of it.
PC out rebounded Butler 37-32 overall.
Kyron Cartwright
Providence has had trouble getting out of the gate over the last five games and this one they were much better, in large part due to Kyron Cartwright.
Cartwright made the start and poured in 13 first half points on 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 4 from three-point land.
Cartwright gave Providence a 34-30 first half lead on back to back three-pointers as the Friars took a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
Cartwright did not score a point or take a shot in the second half.
Ben Bentil
Ben Bentil led the Friars with 20 points on 6 of 14 shooting from the field and 8 of 10 from the free throw line.
Bentil took a pass from Kris Dunn with 1:59 to play and the shot clock ticking down to zero to give the Friars a 68-66 lead. A lead that they would not give up.
Bentil also grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 2 assists in the game.
3-Point Shooting
The Friars went 5 of 22 (23%) from three-point land in the game. Of their five three-pointers, three of them came from Kyron Cartwright and the other two came from Kris Dunn.
Providence is 18 of 89 from three-point land in their last four games.
"At the end of the day we are playing to win, and in order to be where you want to be in February and March, the misses today will go in then. We recruited guys to shoot the ball, you give them confidence beyond belief and you live and die with what is right for your team. That's how I coach and if we go 1 for 30 then we do it, but thats how we are going to play," Ed Cooley said.
Cartwright was 3 of 4 but other than him, Lindsey was 0-2, Fazekas was 0-3 and Drew Edwards was 0-2 in the game.
