Jayden Pierre sank five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points as Providence broke a four-game losing streak with a 75-62 win over visiting Big East rival Villanova on Saturday night.
The Friars (12-14, 6-9 Big East) shot 52.3 percent from the floor, including 13 of 27 from distance.
Bensley Joseph (17 points, six rebounds, six assists), Ryan Mela (12 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (10 points) also scored in double figures for Providence.
The Friars never looked back after opening up a 36-24 halftime lead on nine 3-pointers, including three from Pierre. Their lead grew to as many as 22 after a 10-0 run out of the halftime break.
Wooga Poplar and Jordan Longino each had 18 points while Eric Dixon added 15 for Villanova (15-11, 8-7). Poplar and Dixon grabbed nine rebounds apiece.
Poplar recorded 15 points in the second half.
Villanova was held to 24 points and was just 1 of 10 from 3-point range before halftime.
The teams traded 10-0 segments in the first 8:20 of the second half. Pierre scored five points, teaming up with Rich Barron for consecutive triples at the end of the Friars’ run to a 22-point lead. Longino hit back-to-back jumpers to end Villanova’s 10-0 stretch, making it a 46-34 game with 11:40 remaining in regulation.
The Friars withstood the push as Erhunmwunse scored five straight points, completing a three-point play inside and adding a fast-break layup with 10:37 left.
Jhamir Brickus’ 3-pointer brought the Wildcats within 12 by the 8:09 mark, but the Friars sank eight free throws after that point to help close out the game.
Pierre opened a 10-2 run with a clutch three with 5:27 left. The segment included a Barron straight-on make from beyond the arc to up the lead to 20.
Poplar’s second-half surge included two threes and a 3-point play in the final 2:34.
Joseph’s steal and transition layup helped Providence to a 5-0 start, but the visitors cut their deficit to one possession on multiple occasions before the Friars upped the advantage to double digits.
The Wildcats responded to back-to-back threes by the Friars’ Mela and Barron with four quick points, but Pierre and Justyn Fernandez hit from deep and Erhunmwunse dunked home a Joseph feed for an 11-point lead before the halfway mark.
Villanova went 6:52 without a field goal after Dixon’s trey with 9:53 left. Pierre made a left-wing three that upped the Providence lead to 14, and after a 5-0 run the other way, a layup at 1:09 to go for the 12-point halftime edge.
–Field Level Media
