#24 Providence Rolls DePaul 87-66
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
#24 Providence Rolls DePaul 87-66
"I'm really really proud of the group, I thought that was a must win for us. We haven't played well this month, we have definitely been sick. Rodney, Kris and Junior have been sick for about 2 weeks, just can't shake it. There is no question we have had opportunities and blown them, but today I thought we had a better focus, thought we got contributions from everybody. It was a really good team win," said PC Head Coach Ed Cooley after the game.
The Friars led 46-43 in the second half before going on a 14-4 run to go up 60-47 with 12 minutes to play. The run was capped off by a Ryan Fazekas three and a layup by Ben Bentil.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDePaul did not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way as PC shot 49% from the field in the game.
Slow Start
With DePaul up 21-20, the Friars went on a 9-2 run to take a 29-23 lead with 5:32 to play in the half.
The Friars led by as much as 9 points, 39-30, in the first half before DePaul's Darrick Wood cut it to 6 with the game clock winding down.
PC took a 39-33 lead into the locker room.
The Leaders
Ben Bentil led the Friars with 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting, while Kyron Cartwright followed up with 16 and Jalen Lindsey added 14 for Providence
Next up
PC plays their final home game of the season on Wednesday, March 2 when they host Creighton. Game time is set for 9 p.m.
5 Takeaways From PC's 87-66 Win Over DePaul
Bracketology
As of Saturday, February 27, the latest bracket projections from CBS Sports' Jerry Palm have the Friars sitting as a 10 seed and playing Notre Dame in the first round (the seed is more important than the opponent).
"We are what we are, if we get to the tournament great, if we don't, lets try again another year," said Ed Cooley after the game.
PC is 8-8 in the Big East with a bad loss to DePaul on the road and bad home losses to Marquette and Seton Hall.
Winning their final two games and then doing something in the Big East would greatly help PC's chances of improving their position.
A loss in either of the final two games could take them out of the tournament all together.
Points off Turnovers
The Friars forced DePaul into 13 turnovers, 6 of which came on steels, and converted for 16 points.
PC turned the ball over 11 times but DePaul was only able to convert for 8 points.
Kyron Cartwright
Kyron Cartwright made the start for the Friars in the absence of Kris Dunn and poured in 16 points on 4 of 12 shooting from the field, including 8 of 9 from the free throw line.
"We were going to start Kyron anyway, we need more offensive firepower to start games, that's killing us to start games, not being able to score the ball," Cooley said after the game.
Cartwright also dished out 8 assists in the game and played 32 minutes.
Ben Bentil
Ben Bentil led the Friars with 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting from the field and 9 of 9 from the free throw line.
Of his 28 points, 16 of them came in the second half.
Bentil also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists in the game.
Health Concerns
Kris Dunn, Rodney Bullock and Junior Lomomba are all battling sickness and have been for the last 2 weeks. Ed Cooley revealed after the game. Cooley revealed that Kris Dunn is playing at about 40% and that he has not done much for the last 10 days.
"I don't know what it is, I don't know, our doctors, is it a virus, stomach bug, the guys got chills, they are weak. I don't know if any of you saw, they were all throwing up in the huddle at Seton Hall. We tried, it's not like we have a lot of answers out there and that's on me and hopefully we can rectify that as we move forward. But right now, Larry Bird and Robert Parish are not walking through that door babe," Cooley explained in his post game press conference.
PC's next game is on Wednesday, March 2 when they host Creighton. It is the final home game of the season.
