No. 11 Providence, the tournament's top seed, scored nine of the game's final 11 points in taking a 65-61 win over Butler Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
 
Al Durham's three-pointer from the corner gave Providence a 61-59 advantage with 41 seconds to play. Butler was unable to convert two attempts in the lane as part of the next possession before being forced to foul. Two PC free throws gave the Friars a four-point advantage that proved to be too much.
 
Nate Watson scored 26 points for Providence, which improves to 25-4 on the season and advances to Friday's semifinals. Jared Bynum added 16.
 
The game never featured a lead larger than six for either team. The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to take a 51-45 lead with 9:13 remaining. The next six points belonged to Providence as the teams then fought back and forth down the stretch. In all, the game featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties.
 
Chuck Harris, coming off a career-high 29 points Wednesday evening in a first round win over Xavier, led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Bryce Golden added 13. Bo Hodges posted a double that included 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

With three rebounds Friday, Bryce Nze finishes his career (including his seasons at Milwaukee) with 1,001 career rebounds. 
 
The slugfest included both teams shooting less than 40 percent from the field and less than 25 percent from behind the arc.
 
The loss ends Butler's season at 14-19.