PC Holds on for 1-Point Win Over Davidson, After 19-Point Lead

PC Holds on for 1-Point Win Over Davidson, After 19-Point Lead

Oh, boy. This Friar team held on for a one-point win over a tough Davidson College team.

PC defeated Davidson, 63-62, on Tuesday night in its second game of the Maui Invitational in Asheville, N.C. 

Nate Watson scored a game-high 22 points for the Friars. Providence never surrendered the lead in the game.  And a nice surprise for Coach Ed Cooley is the emergence of Noah Horchler who scored double figures and grabbed 8 rebounds.

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"We faced a very well-coached and physical team," Cooley said. "I'm very proud of our guys."

Greg Gantt knocked down a three-point basket for the Friars' first points of the game at the 19:39 mark. Heading into the first media timeout, Providence led 9-2. Davidson had yet to make a field goal.  

The Friars' defensive effort was superior to Monday night's loss to Indiana.

After two layups by David Duke, the Friars took a 13-point lead, 15-2. The Friars were on a 12-0 run, forcing a Davidson timeout with 13:27 left in the half. The Wildcats had not scored in over five minutes. 

Jared Bynum (Largo, Md.) stole the ball and scored in the paint at the 8:23 mark. The Friars had made six of their last eight shots and were on a 10-0 run. Davidson took another timeout as the Friars were in control, 27-8, their largest lead of the game.

With 5:52 remaining in the half, Watson converted on an alley-oop assisted by Bynum. Meanwhile, Davidson led a 10-0 run ahead of the final media timeout of the half to narrow the Friars' lead to 33-27. 

When Davidson scored an uncontested layup, Cooley called a time out. It was clear he did not want to see a repeat of the Hoosiers lay-up-a-thon.

Davidson continued to control the final minutes of the half, scoring in the final seconds to bring them within four.

A concern for Cooley is that the Friars did not have a field goal in the last 5:52 minutes and had missed their last nine shots. Can Duke assert himself as the go-to scorer during the course of this season?

The Friars led at the half, 35-31. Providence shot 13-28 (46.4%) from the field, 2-9 (22.2%) from three, and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free-throw line. Davidson shot 11-28 (39.3%) from the field, 4-12 (33.3%) from three, and 5-7 (71.4%) from the free throw line.

Second Half

Watson got the second half started for the Friars with a dunk in the paint at the 19:21 mark. The two teams traded multiple baskets ahead of the 15:42 media timeout. Providence maintained a five-point advantage, 44-39.

Entering the third media timeout of the half, the Friars had been in a scoring drought for over three minutes. Watson completed an and-one to break the drought with 7:20 remaining, extending the Friars lead to 57-51.

It was a one-possession game at the final media timeout, with the Friars leading 57-55. The teams continued to trade baskets leading up to the last two minutes of the game. With 33 seconds on the clock, Davidson called a timeout while Providence held the lead 63-62. The Friars made two consecutive defensive stops to close out the game. 

Providence finished 25-56 (44.6%) from the field, 2-16 (12.5%) from three, and 11-15 (73.3%) from the free throw line. Davidson finished 21-52 (40.4%) from the field, 8-21 (38.1%) from three, and 12-15 (80.0%) from the free throw line. Kellan Grady and Hyunjung Lee each scored a team-high 17 points for the Wildcats. 

Three players finished in double-figures for the Friars in Bynum, Duke, and Watson. Horchler had a team-high eight rebounds. The Friars only turned the ball over four times in comparison to Davidson's 11 turnovers. 

Up next:

PC competes for fifth place against UNLV/Alabama in the Maui Invitational on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.