Providence will be asked to respond to adversity for the first time under coach Kim English on Sunday when it plays Georgia in the third-place game of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.
The Friars (3-1) took their first loss of the English era on Friday, falling 73-70 to Kansas State in overtime. Devin Carter missed a layup as time expired in regulation, and Providence surrendered the first five points of the extra period and never recovered.
“It was a battle,” English said. “It was a gritty contest, a physical contest. Our team had a lot of chances for victory. I give a ton of credit to the Kansas State program that we have a ton of respect for.”
Carter finished with a team-high 19 points, while Bryce Hopkins recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
With just seven seconds left in the game, an altercation between the Friars’ Garwey Dual and Kansas State’s Dai Dai Ames broke out, with Dual throwing a punch at Ames. Both players were ejected, and now Dual will miss Sunday’s game against Georgia due to a one-game suspension.
Dual had seven points against the Wildcats.
Much like Providence, the Bulldogs (2-2) are also looking to bounce back after falling 79-68 to No. 12 Miami on Friday.
Despite the loss, Georgia coach Mike White was still pleased with his team’s effort against a ranked opponent, although he is hoping the offense can take a step forward against the Friars after shooting just 36.7 percent from the field against the Hurricanes.
“I thought we did a decent job playing with a ton of energy defensively,” White said. “I thought we played really hard, obviously we have got to be better offensively.”
Blue Cain paced the Bulldogs with 18 points on Friday, while Noah Thomasson chipped in 14.
Sunday marks the first all-time meeting between Georgia and Providence.
–Field Level Media
