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
Wednesday, December 30
Providence, R.I.
5:00 p.m.
Providence College
7-3,3-1Big East
71
vs
55
Butler
2-4,1-2Big East
1
2
F
Butler
18
37
55
Providence
35
36
71
Photo by: Stew Milne
David Duke Leads Men’s Basketball Past Butler, 71-55
12/30/2020 7:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Friars’ largest lead was 20 points in the game.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's basketball team defeated the Butler Bulldogs, 71-55, on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. The Friars advance to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in BIG EAST play. The Friars were led by junior David Duke (Providence, R.I.) with game-highs of 22 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, and eight assists. Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) added 18 points and six rebounds for the Friars.
"Giving our players confidence allowed us to play more urgent and free," Head Coach Ed Cooley said. "It is a credit to their mental toughness and the preparation of execution."
At the 18:40 mark, Jimmy Nichols, Jr. (Conway, S.C.) completed an and-one for the first Friar points of the game. On the ensuing defensive possession, Nichols stole the ball and Duke dunked it on the fastbreak. The Friars took an early 13-8 lead into the first media timeout.
Providence opened the game 8-for-8 from the field. Heading into the second media timeout, Butler had not scored in nearly three minutes. The Friars maintained the lead, 20-11, with 11:36 remaining in the first half. A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.) added his first three-point basket of the game at the 9:52 mark. He would finish 4-5 from behind the arc.
With 8:48 left in the first half, Duke knocked down a second-chance jumper to give the Friars their first double-digit lead of the game, 25-15. In the final stretch of the half, Duke scored on three consecutive possessions.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' struggles on offense continued. The Friars defense held Butler to only three points in the final 10:35 minutes of the first half. Butler finished the half on a cold streak from the field, making only one of their last 14 attempts.
The Friars led by 17 at halftime, 35-18. Providence shot 15-25 (60.0%) from the field, 2-5 (40.0%) from three, and 3-6 (50.0%) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs shot 8-28 (28.6%) from the field, 1-9 (11.1%) from three, and 1-3 (33.3%) from the free throw line.
At the 17:28 mark, Reeves got the second half started for the Friars with a three-pointer from the right corner. The teams traded baskets leading up to the first media timeout of the half. Providence held control, 40-24.
Coming out of the 11:53 media timeout, Watson scored in the paint to give the Friars a 19-point advantage. With 8:44 remaining, Reeves made his third three-point basket to give the Friars their largest lead of the game, at 20 points. Providence led 57-37.
A quick run by the Bulldogs narrowed the deficit to 11, but another corner three by Reeves extended the Friars lead in the final two minutes. Reeves finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
For the game, Providence was 28-48 (58.3%) from the field, 6-13 (46.2%) from three, and 9-12 (75.0%) from the free throw line. Butler finished 21-61 (34.4%) from the field, 7-26 (26.9%) from three, and 6-10 (60.0%) from the free throw line. Jair Bolden scored a team-high 15 points for the Bulldogs.
The Friars had four players in double-figures in Duke, Watson, Reeves and Jared Bynum (Largo, Md.). Providence out-assisted and scored more points in the paint than Butler in the game. Six players finished in the scoring column for the Friars.
"Coach [Ed] Cooley having a lot of confidence in me helps me keep confidence in myself," Duke said. "My teammates also do a great job keeping me motivated and keeping me on track."
Up next, the Friars stay home and take on the No. 11 ranked Creighton Bluejays. The contest is on Saturday, January 2 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. and will be televised on FOX.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
Butler
PROV
FG%
.344
.583
3FG%
.269
.462
FT%
.600
.750
RB
32
32
TO
8
13
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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