Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Pitt (Exhibition) on October 19, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Men's Basketball
at Pitt (Exhibition)
2:00 p.m.
Providence College Athletics
Monday, November 30
Providence, RI
7:30 PM
Providence College
79
vs
72
Maine
Friars Rally to Beat Stubborn Black Bears, 79-72
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
December 1, 1998
Providence, R.I....Senior Jamel Thomas turned in his second double-double of the season scoring 25 points and adding 11 rebounds while sophomore Erron Maxey added 15 points as the Providence College Friars held off a determined University of Maine team to take a 79-72 victory at the Providence Civic Center on Monday night.
The win extended PC's current winning streak to five in a row, the most since a six-game run in January of 1997. Providence (5-2) also got strong games from Llewellyn Cole and Justin Farley off the bench in the win. Cole had nine points and four rebounds while Farley added ten points and seven rebounds in the win. Both players made big plays in the second half when the Friars finally pulled away from the Black Bears.
Junior Andy Bedard led Maine (4-2) with 25 points including five, three-pointers. Huggy Dye added 14 and Marcus Wills added 13 for the Black Bears who saw their record against BIG EAST teams fall to 0-23 since the league started in 1979.
As has been the Friars' way in the early part of the season, PC jumped out to a fast 7-0 lead in the first 2:06 of the game.
The Black Bears took a timeout and got things together and when Dye hit a three-pointer at the 11:44 mark, Maine led for the first time at 15-13. The visitors would keep the lead until the 3:40 mark when Cole scored underneath for PC at the 3:40 mark to make it 27-26.
The lead would change hands six times before the half as Maine took a 35-32 record into the second stanza.
In the second half, the trio of Maxey, Cole and Farley went to work inside for the Friars. With the score tied at 39-39, PC went on a 10-3 run to take a 49-42 lead at the 12:24 mark. Cole did a majority of the damage with six points on a pair of free throws, a layup and a tip-in.
The Friars would lose the lead once more in the game as Andy Fox and Wills scored back-to-back buckets for a 56-54 lead at 8:09.
PC went on another 10-0 run with Farley getting six points, Thomas and Maxey two each to give the Friars an eight point lead at 64-56 with 5:44 left.
Bedard kept Maine in the game scoring ten of the Black Bears final 16 points but PC made nine of 11 from the foul line to hold on to the hard fought win.
The Friars shot just 42.6% (29-68) from the floor and made just two three-pointers on the night. Maine shot 43.5% (30-69) but made eight three's in the game.
Providence is now off until Saturday, December 5th when the Brown University Bears come to the Civic Center for a 1:00 p.m. game.
FRIAR NOTES....PC is 6-0 in the all-time series against Maine....Jamel Thomas' alleyoop dunk with 5:08 left in the first half moved him into 10th on the Friars' all-time scoring list passing Jim Hadnot who had 1,467 points in his career. Thomas now has 1,483 points in his PC career...He has now also scored in double figures in 40 consecutive games since his sophomore year...Friars' freshman Sean Connolly was named the BIG EAST's Co-Rookie of the Week for the week ending November 29th. Connolly scored 29 points and added nine rebounds in wins against North Carolina State and Cleveland State. His 17 points against North Carolina State was a career high....The 6-4 guard from Peabody, Massachusetts was held to just two-for-ten shooting against Maine after taking an elbow in the head during the second half....The 35-32 Maine lead at halftime marked just the first time this season that the Friars had trailed at halftime....
2018-2019 Men's Basketball Highlight Video
Saturday, April 13
