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
Friday, January 17
Philadelphia, Pa.
7:00 PM
Providence College
9-10,3-5Big East
73
at
75
Villanova
12-7,5-3Big East
1
2
F
Providence
37
36
73
Villanova
32
43
75
Men’s Basketball Defeated At Villanova, 75-73
1/17/2025 9:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bensley Joseph recorded 20 points and seven rebounds.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Providence College men's basketball team was defeated by the Villanova Wildcats (12-7, 5-3 BIG EAST), 75-73, on Friday, January 17 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The Friars moved to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in BIG EAST play. Senior guard Bensley Joseph (Arlington, Mass.) led the Friars with a team-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) anchored the squad, grabbing eight rebounds. Sophomore Justyn Fernandez (Richmond, Va.) made his first start for the Friars and contributed 17 points as he shot 5-10 from three and added five rebounds and four assists. Junior Corey Floyd (Franklin, N.J.) added 18 points.
"It was a hard-fought BIG EAST game with a disappointing result," Head Coach Kim English said. "We'll take this as a learning opportunity and continue to grow from it. Credit to Villanova for their performance. We lack nothing."
FIRST HALF:
- Justyn Fernandez (Richmond, Va.) started the scoring for the Friars with a jumper.
- After a slow start, the game intensified with both teams trading leads. Villanova gained momentum midway through the half, taking a 19-14 lead at the 7:59 mark.
- The Friars faced a nearly three-minute scoring drought that allowed the Wildcats to go on an 8-0 run and extend their lead to 23-14.
- Providence answered with a nine-point streak, hitting three consecutive shots to tie the game at 23 with 4:23 left in the half.
- Pierre knocked down a three-pointer at the 2:47 mark to give the Friars their first lead since the 10:06 mark.
- The Friars built on their momentum, scoring six more points to widen the gap.
- With 1:05 remaining, Fernandez became the first player in the game to reach double-digit points.
- PC led 37-32 at half.
- The Friars finished the half scoring seven of their last eight baskets.
- Providence shot 13-30 (43.3%) from the field, 9-20 (45.0%) from three, and 2-2 (100.0%) from the free-throw line.
- Villanova shot 11-30 (36.7%) from the field, 4-13 (30.8%) from three and 6-6 (100.0%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:
- Villanova scored 10 unanswered points to start off the half, taking a 42-37 lead.
- Fernandez answered with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 42-40 entering the 15:56 media timeout.
- The Friars responded with a six-point run to reclaim the lead, sparking a back-and-forth battle.
- The tightly contested half saw the Friars trailing 66-63 at the 4:11 mark.
- Fernandez tied the game at 71 with 1:17 remaining that forced a Villanova timeout.
- VU took the lead with 40 seconds to play. Bensley made two clutch free throws with 10 seconds on the clock to bring the Friars within one, 74-73.
- The Friars were unable to find the answer in the final seconds and fell 73-75.
- Providence finished 24-56 (42.9%) from the field, 14-36 (38.9%) from three, and 11-15 (73.3%) from the free-throw line.
- Villanova finished 26-60 (43.3%) from the field, 7-26 (26.9%) from three and 16-18 (88.9%) from the free throw line.
- Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Joseph (20), Floyd Jr. (18), Fernandez (17) and Jabri Abdur-Rahim. (10).
- PC outscored Villanova 12-4 in bench points and 7-6 in fast-break points.
- Pierre registered a game-high seven assists.
- PC has now registered a 43-73 mark all-time versus Villanova, including a 16-37 record on the road.
- The Friars were missing starters Ryan Mela (illness) and Wes Cardet (leg injury) tonight.
- The Friars return to Providence, R.I. on Saturday, January 15 to host the Georgetown Hoyas at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
- Tip-off is set for 12:30 p.m. and will be televised on FOX.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
PROV
VU
FG%
.429
.433
3FG%
.389
.269
FT%
.733
.889
RB
31
37
TO
9
7
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's Basketball
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