Jason Edwards recorded game highs with 25 points and eight assists and added five rebounds to lead Providence College to a 98-66 victory over visiting New Hampshire on Tuesday night.
Providence (3-2) led by only seven points at halftime then shot 66.7% (22 of 33) from the floor in the second half when the Friars outscored the Wildcats 60-35.
Jaylin Sellers (18), Jamier Jones (14), Stefan Vaaks (13) and Ryan Mela (12) also scored in double figures for Providences, which made its first five 3-point attempts in the second half. Oswin Erhunmwunse contributed 11 rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Friars sank 10 of their 26 3-point attempts (38.5%) in the game and had a 54-30 advantage in points in the paint.
Jack Graham led New Hampshire (2-4) with a season-high 21 points. The Wildcats received 16 from Bel El Shakery, and six points and 12 rebounds from John Squire.
The Friars played short-handed, as four players were out with injuries: guard Corey Floyd Jr., guard Daquan Davis, forward Duncan Powell and guard/forward Rich Barron.
The Friars had their largest lead of the first half after an Edwards layup put Providence up 21-11 with 10:56 remaining in the half. UNH was within a point, 25-24, following a Graham 3-pointer and trailed 32-31 before the Friars ended the half with a 6-0 run to take a 38-31 lead.
Providence gained some separation by scoring the first eight points of the second half to increase its lead to 46-31. The Friars made their first seven shots from the field in the half, four of which were 3-pointers.
Mela capped an 8-0 run with a tip-in that gave the Friars a 69-44 lead with 12:24 to play. New Hampshire was never closer than 20 points the rest of the game. Providence ended the game on a 9-0 run over the final 3:01.
New Hampshire shot 39.1% from the field (25 of 64).
–Field Level Media
