PC Falls to Xavier — Lose 9 Out of Last 10 Games

PC Falls to Xavier — Lose 9 Out of Last 10 Games

The Providence College men's basketball team lost to the Xavier Musketeers (21-10, 13-7 Big East), 76-68, on Saturday at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.

The Friars finished regular season play with a 12-19 overall and 6-14 in the Big East.

PC lost nine out of its last ten games.

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Bensley Joseph led the Friars with a game-high 27 points and tied a career-best with seven threes. Ryan Mela recorded seven rebounds. 

 

FIRST HALF: 

• Corey Floyd Jr. kicked off the Friars' scoring action with a bucket in the lane. Joseph knocked down a three on the following possession that gave the Friars a 5-4 lead (17:21).  

• Prior to the under-16 timeout, Oswin Erhunmwunse slammed an emphatic alley-oop dunk. The Friars led, 7-4 (15:05).  

• Mela scored a contested layup that ended a 7-0 Xavier scoring run. Mela scored another bucket in the lane that cut the Musketeers' lead to 13-11 (12:04).  

• Joseph knocked down his second three of the day and a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession that helped the Friars regain a 19-18 lead (9:03).  

• Joseph continued to fuel the Friar offense and knocked down his third three of the day as Xavier led 25-26 (6:44).  

• Rich Barron knocked down a three for the Friars that ended a three-minute drought from the field as the team took a 32-31 lead (1:43). 

• Xavier responded with back-to-back buckets that ended their own four-minute drought from the field. Xavier led 36-32 at the end of the first half.  

•  Joseph was the only Friar in double figures in the first half with 11 points and shooting a flawless 3-3 from behind the arc.  

• Xavier's Ryan Conwell led all scorers with 13 first-half points.  

 

SECOND HALF: 

• Joseph opened the second half scoring with his fourth three of the day. Mela ensued with a pair of buckets in the paint that cut Xavier's lead to 42-41 (15:38).  

• Out of the under-16 timeout, Joseph knocked down another three for the Friars to tie the game at 44. Joseph led all scorers with 17 points (14:13).  

• Xavier found their stride on offense as they knocked down four straight field goals and gained a 55-49 advantage leading into the under-12 media timeout (10:15).  

• Joseph and Mela continued to pace the Friar offense, scoring on back-to-back possessions. Xavier led 60-53 (7:49).  

• As Xavier continued to stay in command of the game, Erhunmwunse slammed a dunk that cut the Musketeers' lead to 65-58 (5:00).  

• Joseph knocked down his seventh three-pointer of the day for the Friars. As PC kept closing the gap on Xavier's lead Floyd Jr., knocked down another three on the next possession. Xavier led 69-64 with 2:59 left to play.  

• The Musketeers maintained control of the game in the closing minutes of the second half. Xavier held onto a 76-68 lead as time expired  

 

HIGHLIGHTS: 

• Two Friars finished in double figures: Joseph (27), Mela (12).  

• Xavier's Zach Freemantle led the Musketeers with 25 points and eight rebounds.  

• Joseph tied a career-high in three-pointers made, knocking down seven.  

• Corey Floyd Jr recorded a career-best four steals.  

• There were 10 lead changes and four ties in the game.  

• The Friars are now 12-15 all-time versus Xavier. 

• The Friars are now 2-11 all-time versus Xavier on the road. 

 

NEXT: 

• The Friars will enter the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 8 or No. 9 seed. Providence will face Butler (13-17, 6-13 BIG EAST), on Wednesday March 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. 

• Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. on Peacock.