PC Gets Revenge on Marquette — Another Top 25 Win

PC Gets Revenge on Marquette — Another Top 25 Win

The Providence College men’s #17 basketball team came from behind and beat the #22 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles 65-63 at home on Sunday. 

Marquette had handed the Friars one of their two losses earlier in the season.

The Golden Eagles bested the Friars on January 4, 88-56 in Milwaukee,

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PC Revenge

Nate Watson led the Friars with 17 points including the game-winning 3-point play with 43 seconds left.

With the win, PC is now 18-2 and 8-1 in the Big East. 

"Today was a win for our city and our state," said Friars Coach Ed Cooley after the game. "What they did after that storm was amazing. The crowd was one of the most electrifying in my 11 years at Providence. That was big time!"

 

GAME STORY

FIRST HALF:

- Watson opened the game for the Friars with an emphatic second-chance dunk.
- Marquette's Tyler Kolek got off to a hot start from three-point territory, knocking down his first two attempts from beyond the arc. 
- The Golden Eagles held the Friars scoreless over a three-minute stretch early in the game. Jared Bynum finished a contested layup to end the drought at the 13-minute mark. Marquette led 15-9. 
- Each team endured some shooting struggles as the half progressed. Marquette maintained the lead. 
- With the Friars trailing, Minaya and Horchler had three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Marquette led 21-17. 
- At the 3:09 mark, Bynum stole the ball and A.J. Reeves finished off the play with a three-pointer. PC narrowed the gap to two points, trailing 23-21. 
- Marquette's Darryl Morsell recorded five steals in the first half. The Friars had 10 turnovers as a team. 
- The Golden Eagles led by six at halftime, 29-23.
- Providence shot 9-27 (33.3%) from the field, 4-13 (30.8%) from three, and 1-2 (50.0%) from the free-throw line. 
- Marquette shot 13-32 (40.6%) from the field, 3-13 (23.1) from three, and did not attempt any free throws. 

 

SECOND HALF:

- Marquette had a strong start to the half and extended their lead to nine. At the 17:52 mark, Reeves answered with his second three-pointer of the game. 
- Marquette led by four, 37-33, at the first timeout of the half.
- At the 12:40 mark, Ed Croswell (Philadelphia, Pa.) converted a second-chance layup to cap off a 6-0 scoring run. Marquette's lead dwindled to one, 40-39.
- With 11:40 remaining, Al Durham (Lilburn, Ga.) knocked down a timely three-pointer to get into the scoring column. The game was knotted at 42.
- Minaya added a three-pointer of his own at the 8:03 mark. At the 7:17 media timeout, Marquette had a small lead, 51-49. 
- With 5:30 left, Durham took the ball coast-to-coast to tie the game at 53. Shortly after, another basket by Durham gave the Friars their first lead of the second half, 55-54.
- There were several lead changes as the teams traded baskets in the final stretch.
- With 0:43 remaining, Watson drew contact on a dunk and completed the three-point play. The Friars regained the lead, 64-62.
- At the 0:26 mark, a missed free throw by Justin Lewis squandered a chance for the Golden Eagles to tie the game. 
- Marquette used a timeout with 0:14 to play. The Friars led by two points, 65-63.
- Minaya played a crucial role as the Friars stopped the Golden Eagles on their final possession. 
"When you look at what Minaya has brought to the team, he now has so much more confidence offensively," Cooley described. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

Providence finished 23-60 (38.3%) from the field, 8-26 (30.8%) from three, and 11-16 (68.8%) from the free-throw line. 
Marquette finished 23-55 (41.8%) from the field, 5-19 (26.3%) from three, and 12-15 (80.0%) from the free-throw line. 
Four players finished in double-figures for the Friars, in Durham (11), Horchler (11), Minaya (14), and Watson (17). 
Darryl Morsell led the way for the Golden Eagles with 14 points, as well as a game-high six steals. Tyler Kolek and Justin Lewis each added 13 points for Marquette. 
Today's game had 10 lead changes and was tied six times. 
The Friars controlled the boards in the game, out-rebounding the Golden Eagles by nine and recording 22 second-chance points. 
The Friars have been ranked for six consecutive weeks after entering the polls on December 20, 2021. 
The Friars improved to 4-0 over ranked opponents this season. 
"In that locker room, there is a lot of love and character," Cooley added. "This is one of the closest, if not the closest team that I have ever coached." 
Attendance – 12,157

 

NEXT GAME:

The #17/17 Friars travel to take on the St. John's Red Storm on Tuesday, February 1 at Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. 
St. John's holds a 55-64 all-time edge versus the Friars. On January 8, a second-half surge led the then No. 16/17 Friars past the Red Storm, 83-73, in Providence, R.I.