Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Late Night Madness on October 4, 2025 at TBA
Men's Basketball
vs Late Night Madness
TBA
Providence College Athletics
Sunday, December 16
Providence, R.I.
2:00 P.M.
Providence College
8-3
87
vs
63
Central Connecticut
5-6
1
2
F
Central Connecticut
32
31
63
Providence
46
41
87
Men’s Basketball Tops Central Connecticut, 87-63
12/16/2018 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I – The Providence College men's basketball team defeated Central Connecticut, 87-63, on Sunday afternoon in the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The 24-point win marked the team's largest margin of victory on the season. The Friars improved to 8-3 on the season with two non-conference games remaining on their schedule, Albany (Dec. 18) and at Texas (Dec. 21), prior to opening conference play at home versus Creighton on December 31. Four players reached double figures for the Friars, including Alpha Diallo of New York, N.Y., (14 points), Maliek White of Richmond, Va. (18 points), Nate Watson of Arlington, Va., (14 points) and Isaiah Jackson of Gainesville, Fla., (16 points).
White got the nod in the starting lineup after it was announced earlier in the week that freshman A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.) would miss 4-6 weeks due to a foot injury. This marked White's second career start after starting one game last season.
White scored his career-high in points with 18 after he knocked down a three in the right corner with 3:22 left in the game, Makai Ashton-Langford (Worcester, Mass.) fed him the assist in the corner. He also tied his career-high in assists with six on the game.
Ashton-Langford gave Head Coach Ed Cooley valuable minutes off the bench, he shot 3-5 from the field including his first three-point basket of the season in the first half. He finished with eight points and five assists while adding two steals.
The Friars gave up a layup in the opening minute but completed a 9-0 run to bring the game to the first media timeout (15:29) with a 9-2 lead. Diallo scored the first five points while Kalif Young (Vaughan, Ontario) and White chipped in layups in the paint.
Watson came off the bench at the 16:03 mark and Central Connecticut could not find an answer for him down low. He scored nine points on 4-4 shooting to open the game and finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
Providence's mix between half-court defense and full-court pressure stifled the Blue Devils early, forcing nine turnovers in the half and scoring 16 points off those turnovers. Providence used their speed in transition to outscore the Blue Devils 13-2 in fast break points in the first half.
Providence started to break the game open at the 8:00 mark in the first half, they led 30-20 before going on a 9-0 run to take a 39-20 lead with 5:59 remaining in the half. The trio of Diallo, Watson and White led the Friars in the half with 29 of their 46 points.
The Friars spread the wealth all game, assisting on 26 of their 30 baskets. They forced Head Coach Donyell Marshall to go to man-to-man after shooting 56.7 percent (17-30) from the field in the half and 33.3 percent (4-12) from three-point territory.
David Duke (Providence, R.I.) and White kept the team rolling in the second half, starting a 13-2 run after Duke knocked down a three in the corner followed by Duke passing the ball to White on the wing for another three the next possession. The run put the Friars in front, 59-36 with 14:43 remaining.
Providence took a 70-45 lead into the third media timeout (7:57), their three-point shooting pushed them to an 87-63 victory. They shot 63.6 percent (7-11) from deep in the second half, and 47.8 percent (11-23) in the game.
The Friars bench continues to be strong for Providence, the combo of Watson and Jackson gave them scoring threats off the bench on top of a rebounding presence. Watson and Jackson combined for 30 points and eight rebounds in the game. Providence's bench outscored Central Connecticut's 38-11.
Jamir Coleman scored a game-high 21 points on 9-14 shooting to lead the Blue Devils.
Up next, Providence will host Albany on Tuesday, Dec. 18 in the Dunkin' Donuts Center with a 7:00 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcasted by FSN/YurView and can be heard on the radio at WPRO (630AM/99.7FM).
-GO FRIARS-
Team Stats
CCSU
PC
FG%
.414
.508
3FG%
.400
.478
FT%
.600
.696
RB
30
40
TO
13
12
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballCenter
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball2018-2019 Men's Basketball Highlight Video
Saturday, April 13
