Box Score Providence made nine of 12 three-point attempts in the second half to post an 81-73 win over #9/10 Butler Thursday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Friars, ranked #12/13, opened BIG EAST play with a win to improve to 13-1 on the season. Butler falls to 11-2. A sold-out crowd of 9,100 witnessed just the second match-up in Hinkle Fieldhouse history featuring Top 15 teams.
"They were certainly the better team today," said Butler coach
Chris Holtmann. "We have a lot to learn from this, and hopefully that starts tomorrow. We just didn't have a good approach coming of halftime."
Providence out-scored the home team, 56-37, in the second half.
Kelan Martin led Butler with 20 points and nine rebounds. He was one of four Butler players in double figures. Butler shot 41 percent from the field, but went 3-of-17 from behind the arc, with senior
Jordan Gathers netting all three of his attempts from distance.
After PC's Junior Lomomba scored at the 6:52 mark in the first half to pull the Friars within one at 22-21, Butler went on a 14-2 run to push the lead to 36-23 with 1:09 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs took a 36-25 lead into the intermission.
Providence used a 13-2 run to tie the game at 42 with 15 minutes to play before taking its first lead of the second half on a lay-up by Drew Edwards at the 14:26 mark (44-43). Martin and Gathers answered a number of PC makes in the second half with Gathers' third three of the day pulling Butler within one at 67-66 with 4:19 to play. Providence would answer and Butler would only get within three as the Friars scored 14 of the game's final 21 points for the final score.
Rodney Bullock led the Friars with 25 points and 10 rebounds, hitting six of nine from three-point range. Kris Dun had 20 points and nine assists, and Ben Bentil added 19 points.
The Friars shot 43 percent, including 12-of-26 from three-point range for the game. PC committed only seven turnovers, while Butler only had six.
Roosevelt Jones had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists for Butler. Gathers had a season-high 11. Tyler Wideman had 10 points, making all five of his attempts.
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround, traveling to Cincinnati Saturday afternoon for a match-up with #6 Xavier. Both teams lost their BIG EAST openers Thursday. The 1 p.m. tip is on FS1 as part of the BIG EAST's hoops marathon featuring all 10 teams.
