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
Thursday, March 14
New York, N.Y.
12:00 p.m.
Providence College
18-15
62
vs
73
Villanova
23-9
1
2
F
Providence
24
38
62
Villanova
31
42
73
Team Stats
PC
VU
FG%
.408
.367
3FG%
.250
.323
FT%
.810
.760
RB
29
36
TO
19
13
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballCenter
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball Falls To Top-Seeded And 25th-Ranked Villanova In BIG EAST Quarterfinals, 73-62
3/14/2019 2:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Nate Watson led three Friars in double figures with 15 points.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Providence College men's basketball team fell to top-seeded and 25th-ranked Villanova, 73-62, in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals on March 14 at Madison Square Garden. The Friars dropped to 18-15 on the season, while the Wildcats improved to 23-9 overall.
Providence gave up an early layup to Phil Booth before ripping off a 7-0 run heading into the first media timeout (15:14). Head Coach Ed Cooley focused on the pick and roll at the top of the key to open the game. Nate Watson (Arlington, Va.) slipped on back-to-back screens for Maliek White (Richmond, Va.) and picked up an easy layup and a two-handed dunk. White capped the run with a triple.
The Wildcats answered with a 7-0 run of their own after back-to-back dunks in the paint and three from the top of the key off of an offensive rebound. The game was knotted at 9-9 with 11:28 left in the first half.
The Friars struggled through a 5:47 scoring drought and faced a 15-9 deficit. A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.) got Providence back on the board with a high-arching three from the top of the key. Watson came down on the next possession, hit a hook shot over Crosby-Roundtree and drew the foul for an opportunity at a three-point play. He converted the foul shot to tie the game, 15-15 (8:01).
Providence trailed by just one, 25-24, with 2:00 remaining in the half before the Wildcats closed out the final 1:42 on a 6-0 run to take a 31-24 advantage into the break. Villanova recorded 16 points off 10 Providence turnovers compared to six points for the Friars off of six Wildcat miscues. Watson was a force down low, starting the game 4-4 from the field for nine points, he added four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.), who entered the matchup averaging 15.0 points per game at Madison Square Garden during his career, opened the scoring for Providence in the second half with a turnaround, baseline jumper. Reeves and Watson added layups in the paint to cut the deficit to two after a 6-0 run, 32-30 (17:51). Diallo finished the game with 14 points on 5-8 shooting.
Providence hit five of its next seven shots from the field to fight back from a 42-36 deficit. Diallo capped off the 6-0 run on a second-chance basket that he finished with contact to draw a foul. Diallo knocked down the free throw to tie the game (44-44) with 9:18 remaining. The Wildcats extended their lead back to six after Eric Paschall knocked down a three to build a 52-46 (6:44) lead.
Villanova took its first double-digit lead of the afternoon, with 5:19 remaining (61-51), after hitting a pair of free throws. Providence shot 17-21 from the free throw line while Villanova converted 19 of its 25 free throws.
The Friars attempted a late comeback with Diallo hitting a three from the left wing with 3:21 on the clock to cut the deficit to seven. Jackson added a pair of free throws to get Providence within five (63-58) with 3:18 remaining. The Wildcats closed out the game with a 10-4 scoring advantage to take the win.
Watson paced the Friars with 15 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and added five rebounds. He also hit 5-5 attempts from the charity stripe. Isaiah Jackson (Gainesville, Fla.) contributed 14 points and three assists. Jackson hit double figures in the scoring column for the fifth-straight game.
The Friars will wait for the NIT Selection Show on Sunday night to learn if their season will continue with a post-season bid.
- GO FRIARS! -
Providence gave up an early layup to Phil Booth before ripping off a 7-0 run heading into the first media timeout (15:14). Head Coach Ed Cooley focused on the pick and roll at the top of the key to open the game. Nate Watson (Arlington, Va.) slipped on back-to-back screens for Maliek White (Richmond, Va.) and picked up an easy layup and a two-handed dunk. White capped the run with a triple.
The Wildcats answered with a 7-0 run of their own after back-to-back dunks in the paint and three from the top of the key off of an offensive rebound. The game was knotted at 9-9 with 11:28 left in the first half.
The Friars struggled through a 5:47 scoring drought and faced a 15-9 deficit. A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.) got Providence back on the board with a high-arching three from the top of the key. Watson came down on the next possession, hit a hook shot over Crosby-Roundtree and drew the foul for an opportunity at a three-point play. He converted the foul shot to tie the game, 15-15 (8:01).
Providence trailed by just one, 25-24, with 2:00 remaining in the half before the Wildcats closed out the final 1:42 on a 6-0 run to take a 31-24 advantage into the break. Villanova recorded 16 points off 10 Providence turnovers compared to six points for the Friars off of six Wildcat miscues. Watson was a force down low, starting the game 4-4 from the field for nine points, he added four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.), who entered the matchup averaging 15.0 points per game at Madison Square Garden during his career, opened the scoring for Providence in the second half with a turnaround, baseline jumper. Reeves and Watson added layups in the paint to cut the deficit to two after a 6-0 run, 32-30 (17:51). Diallo finished the game with 14 points on 5-8 shooting.
Providence hit five of its next seven shots from the field to fight back from a 42-36 deficit. Diallo capped off the 6-0 run on a second-chance basket that he finished with contact to draw a foul. Diallo knocked down the free throw to tie the game (44-44) with 9:18 remaining. The Wildcats extended their lead back to six after Eric Paschall knocked down a three to build a 52-46 (6:44) lead.
Villanova took its first double-digit lead of the afternoon, with 5:19 remaining (61-51), after hitting a pair of free throws. Providence shot 17-21 from the free throw line while Villanova converted 19 of its 25 free throws.
The Friars attempted a late comeback with Diallo hitting a three from the left wing with 3:21 on the clock to cut the deficit to seven. Jackson added a pair of free throws to get Providence within five (63-58) with 3:18 remaining. The Wildcats closed out the game with a 10-4 scoring advantage to take the win.
Watson paced the Friars with 15 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and added five rebounds. He also hit 5-5 attempts from the charity stripe. Isaiah Jackson (Gainesville, Fla.) contributed 14 points and three assists. Jackson hit double figures in the scoring column for the fifth-straight game.
The Friars will wait for the NIT Selection Show on Sunday night to learn if their season will continue with a post-season bid.
- GO FRIARS! -
2018-2019 Men's Basketball Highlight Video
Saturday, April 13
