PC Upsets Xavier on the Road

PC Upsets Xavier on the Road

The Providence College men’s basketball team battled Xavier to the wire.

The Friars led by 4 with the ball under one minute, leading 77-73.

The Friars burned their last timeout, and then Ticket Gaines missed a wide-open 3-pointer.

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Xavier scored with 24 seconds left and called a timeout.

A Xavier press disrupted PC, and the Friars were called for a backcourt violation.

Gaines then had a two-handed block on a Xavier player, Desmond Claude, going in for a tying dunk, and then Gaines was fouled and hit two free throws.

Putting the Friars up 4.

The final score was PC 79-75 over Xavier.

"Really proud of our team for their effort." Head Coach Kim English said. "Tough game, tough environment, but we found a way to win."

 

Critical Win

The win gives PC its 5th Quad 1 for the season.

The win avenged Xaviers’ 20-point win in Providence on January 13 — 85-65.

The Friars are now 17-9 and 9-7 in the Big East.

Xavier falls to 13-13 and 7-8 in the conference.

Devin Carter led the Friars with 22 points but was just 7-20 from the field. And he had a PC-high 11 rebounds.

Jayden Pierre added 17 points and was 3-6 from behind the 3-point line.

 

 FIRST HALF: 

•The game stayed scoreless for the first minute of the match. Freshman Rich Barron opened the game's scoring with a three at the 18:40 mark. Xavier quickly countered with a 6-0 run that lasted over a minute. Headed into the first media timeout (15:42 mark), the Friars trailed, 9-7.

•After the timeout, the Musketeers continued with a 7-0 surge to force a PC timeout with 14:29 left to play.

•Xavier widened its lead to eight points by the under-12 media timeout (10:57 mark), with the Musketeers leading 22-14.

• During Xavier's 2:33 scoring drought, the Friars capitalized by sinking back-to-back threes from Corey Floyd, Jr. and Carter, narrowing the deficit to three points. With 4:12 remaining on the clock, Jayden Pierre scored a driving layup, granting Providence its first lead since the opening two minutes of the game, 30-29. This basket marked Providence's 11th point in a crucial 11-1 run for the Friars.

•Xavier responded with a 9-3 run over the remaining three minutes of the half. As the halftime whistle blew, the Friars trailed by five, 38-33.

•Providence tallied five blocks in the first half. The Friars average 4.5 blocks per game this season.

•Providence shot 11-34 (32.4%) from the field, 4-17 (23.5%) from three, and 7-9 (77.8%) from the free-throw line.
•Xavier shot 15-32 (46.9%) from the field, 6-12 (50.0%) from three, and 2-5 (40.0%) from the free-throw line.
 
 

SECOND HALF:        
•Ticket Gaines (Buffalo, N.Y.) ignited the second-half scoring for the Friars with an emphatic dunk. At the first media timeout (17:06 mark) the Musketeers extended their lead to seven, 46-39.

•Led by Pierre and Barron, who contributed seven and six points, respectively, in the second half, the Friars narrowed the gap to just one point with 14:16 left to play, 53-52.

•The two teams continued to battle. With about 11 minutes left to play, the Friars mounted a 6-0 surge. At the 10:22 mark, Floyd, Jr., scored a driving layup to prompt a Xavier timeout. The Musketeers held a slim, one-point lead, 61-60.

•After sinking two free throws, Floyd, Jr. tied the game at 66 with 7:27 on the clock. It marked the third tie of the night.

•Pierre reclaimed the lead with a three from deep to prompt a Xavier timeout. The Friars held a three-point advantage at the 4:51 mark, 71-69.

•The Friars continued strong offensively with a 6-0 run. At the final media timeout (3:51 mark), the Friars led 74-69.

•The Musketeers outscored the Friars 6-0 to close the gap to two, 77-75. Xavier then called a timeout with 00:24 left in the half.

 

HIGHLIGHTS:         
•Providence finished 27-62 (43.5%) from the field, 9-28 (32.1%) from three and 16-20 (80.0%) from the free throw line.   
•Xavier finished 27-63 (42.9%) from the field, 7-19 (36.8%) from three and 14-23 (60.9%) from the free throw line. 

•Four Friars finished in double figures: Carter (22), Pierre (17), Floyd, Jr., (11) and Barron (10).

•The Friars are 17-2 this season when scoring 71 or more points.

•Desmond Claude led the way for Xavier with 22 points.

•Carter posted his 10th season and third consecutive double-double (22 pts, 11 rb).

•Pierre tied his career record in points (17), field goals (seven), and three-pointers (three).

•Rafael Castro scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes of action.

•The Friars are now 5-6 in Quad 1 games this season.

•The Friars are now 3-10 all-time at the Cintas Center.

 

NEXT:         
• The Friars will travel to Milwaukee, Wis., on Wednesday, Feb. 28 to play No.7/8 Marquette University at the Fiserv Forum. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on FS1

•The Golden Eagles hold a 15-22 all-time series advantage over the Friars. In the first meeting this season, the Friars upset the then-ranked No.6/6 Marquette, 72-57, on Dec.19 in Providence.