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Men's Basketball
vs Late Night Madness
TBA
Providence College Athletics
Saturday, February 29
Villanova, Pa.
12:00 P.M.
Providence College
17-12,10-6Big East
58
at
54
Villanova
22-7,11-5Big East
1
2
F
Providence
30
28
58
Villanova
18
36
54
Photo by: Stew Milne
Luwane Pipkins Leads Men's Basketball Over No. 12 Villanova, 58-54
2/29/2020 3:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Friars clinched a bye in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament with the win.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Providence College men's basketball team upset the No. 12 Villanova Wildcats, 58-54, on Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Friars improve their record to 17-12 on the season and 10-6 in league play. The victory clinches a bye for the Friars in the BIG EAST Tourney (PC will open on Thursday). This marks the team's fifth consecutive win over a ranked opponent this season (5-4). The last time the Friars defeated the Wildcats in Philadelphia was on Jan. 24, 2016. Luwane Pipkins (Chicago, Ill.) led the squad with season high 27 points. He shot 7-13 from the field, 4-8 from three and 9-10 from the line.
Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) opened the scoring for the Friars with an easy layup in the paint. Luwane Pipkins converted on step back jumper to give the Friars an early 4-1 lead. The Wildcats had yet to score a field in the first 4:03 to play. Pipkins kept the Friar offense going with a baseline three. Maliek White (Richmond, Va.) added a three to extend the Friars run to eight. He ended with 15 points and one assist. Villanova scored their first field goal of the afternoon after just six minutes of play. The Friars led 12-3 with 12:20 on the clock.
After a slow start for Villanova, they go on a 7-0 run in the last 1:40 to give them their first lead of the game and forcing a Providence timeout. The Friars had not scored in the last two minutes and had four turnovers in the last five. The Wildcats led 15-14 with 8:04 to play in the first.
White scored on a driving layup off a Wildcat turnover to give the Friars the advantage yet again. He had nine in the first half. With another made jumper from Pipkins the Friars found themselves on a 6-0 run. Villanova was 0-6 on their last field goal possessions. The score was 20-15 after a Pipkins three from the outside right.
Providence finished out the half strong, going on a 16-3 run in the last 7:07. Baskets from Pipkins, David Duke (Providence, R.I) and Kalif Young (Vaughan, Ontario) were crucial in the run. Villanova continued to struggle offensively only making one field goal of their last 11.
The Friars led the way at halftime, 30-18. Villanova's 18 points in the first half was a season low. Providence shot 11-25 (44%) from the field, 4-7 (57.1%) from three, and 4-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line. Villanova shot 7-26 (26.9%) from the field, 2-14 (14.3%) from three, and 2-9 (22.2%) from the free throw line.
Young tipped in the first field goal of the second half. Villanova went a small 6-0 run which was ended by Pipkins fourth three of the afternoon. Young scored again down low to put the Friars up 39-27 with 14:10 left to play. He finished with six points and seven rebounds on the day.
Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) ended to the 2:30 minute scoring drought for the Friars. Villanova started to slowly decrease their deficit in the second half, getting it down to five with just under six minutes to play. The Friars could not find the bottom of the net and went 4:19 minutes without scoring a field goal. Providence called a timeout with 4:45 to play and they held the lead 46-41.
The Wildcats kept rolling and brought it to a one possession game. Pipkins put an end to the Friars cold spell with a made jump shot from the free throw line. Watson fouled out with less than three minutes to play. After White missed two free throws, Villanova's Jeremiah Robinson-Earl made a second-chance dunk to bring them within two again. Providence had the lead 48-46 with 1:50 left in regulation.
Pipkins did it again, creating space off the defender and nailing a turnaround jump shot. Jermaine Samuels was sent to line and went 1-2. The Friars led 50-47 with 1:13 on the clock. Providence made eight consecutive free throws down the stretch to hold onto the lead and secure the win.
Providence finished 17-48 (35.4%) from the field, 5-13 (38.5%) from three, and 19-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line. Villanova finished 20-57 (35.1%) from the field, 5-30 (16.7%) from three, and 9-18 (50.0%) from the free throw line. Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Up next, the Friars return home to host the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday, March 4 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The game is set for tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
-GO FRIARS-
Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) opened the scoring for the Friars with an easy layup in the paint. Luwane Pipkins converted on step back jumper to give the Friars an early 4-1 lead. The Wildcats had yet to score a field in the first 4:03 to play. Pipkins kept the Friar offense going with a baseline three. Maliek White (Richmond, Va.) added a three to extend the Friars run to eight. He ended with 15 points and one assist. Villanova scored their first field goal of the afternoon after just six minutes of play. The Friars led 12-3 with 12:20 on the clock.
After a slow start for Villanova, they go on a 7-0 run in the last 1:40 to give them their first lead of the game and forcing a Providence timeout. The Friars had not scored in the last two minutes and had four turnovers in the last five. The Wildcats led 15-14 with 8:04 to play in the first.
White scored on a driving layup off a Wildcat turnover to give the Friars the advantage yet again. He had nine in the first half. With another made jumper from Pipkins the Friars found themselves on a 6-0 run. Villanova was 0-6 on their last field goal possessions. The score was 20-15 after a Pipkins three from the outside right.
Providence finished out the half strong, going on a 16-3 run in the last 7:07. Baskets from Pipkins, David Duke (Providence, R.I) and Kalif Young (Vaughan, Ontario) were crucial in the run. Villanova continued to struggle offensively only making one field goal of their last 11.
The Friars led the way at halftime, 30-18. Villanova's 18 points in the first half was a season low. Providence shot 11-25 (44%) from the field, 4-7 (57.1%) from three, and 4-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line. Villanova shot 7-26 (26.9%) from the field, 2-14 (14.3%) from three, and 2-9 (22.2%) from the free throw line.
Young tipped in the first field goal of the second half. Villanova went a small 6-0 run which was ended by Pipkins fourth three of the afternoon. Young scored again down low to put the Friars up 39-27 with 14:10 left to play. He finished with six points and seven rebounds on the day.
Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) ended to the 2:30 minute scoring drought for the Friars. Villanova started to slowly decrease their deficit in the second half, getting it down to five with just under six minutes to play. The Friars could not find the bottom of the net and went 4:19 minutes without scoring a field goal. Providence called a timeout with 4:45 to play and they held the lead 46-41.
The Wildcats kept rolling and brought it to a one possession game. Pipkins put an end to the Friars cold spell with a made jump shot from the free throw line. Watson fouled out with less than three minutes to play. After White missed two free throws, Villanova's Jeremiah Robinson-Earl made a second-chance dunk to bring them within two again. Providence had the lead 48-46 with 1:50 left in regulation.
Pipkins did it again, creating space off the defender and nailing a turnaround jump shot. Jermaine Samuels was sent to line and went 1-2. The Friars led 50-47 with 1:13 on the clock. Providence made eight consecutive free throws down the stretch to hold onto the lead and secure the win.
Providence finished 17-48 (35.4%) from the field, 5-13 (38.5%) from three, and 19-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line. Villanova finished 20-57 (35.1%) from the field, 5-30 (16.7%) from three, and 9-18 (50.0%) from the free throw line. Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Up next, the Friars return home to host the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday, March 4 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The game is set for tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
-GO FRIARS-
Team Stats
PROV
VU
FG%
.354
.351
3FG%
.385
.167
FT%
.760
.500
RB
38
37
TO
15
12
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
9
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Guard
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