Providence Dominates DePaul, 84-57

Providence opened up a 15 point halftime lead behind 52% shooting from the field and never let DePaul get back into this game. Kris Dunn followed up his triple-double from last time these two teams met by scoring 21 points, ripping down 4 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and grabbing 4 steals. LaDontae Henton got his 4th double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Joining Henton on the double-double front was Ben Bentil. Bentil finished with 12 points and 10 boards. This was his 2nd career double-double. Those were the only Providence players that scored in double figures on the night. Kyron Cartwright had a solid game with 6 points and 4 assists. Tyler Harris scored all 7 of his points in garbage time but made a few nice plays and possibly gained some confidence in the process.
Walk-ons Casey Woodring and Tom Planek even got in on the action. Woodring nailed a 3-pointer, Providence’s only trey of the game, and Planek scored 4 points in front of family and friends. Planek played at Chicago-area high school Bishop Fenwick prior to arriving at Providence this year.

The Friars frankly dominated a DePaul team that has seemingly hit a wall after being alone in first place atop the Big East on January 8th and in a 3-way tie for the top spot on January 23rd. The Blue Demons were led by Billy Garrett with 11 points, who scored 9 of those 11 at the free throw line. DePaul shot just 34% from the field against Providence’s 52.8%. DePaul had 16 turnovers that led to 24 Providence points and the Friars did major damage in the paint with 46 of their 84 points coming in that area of the floor. DePaul managed just 12 paint points. The attendance at Allstate Arena was listed at 5,923 but that looked on television like a generous figure.

These are clearly teams going in different directions as March approaches. DePaul has 6 league wins but are now 12-15 on the season overall and this once promising season has gone by the wayside. Providence on the other hand is now 9-5 in league play and is one win away from number 20 for the season. The Friars will travel to Villanova on Tuesday night for an 8pm tip against the 1st place Wildcats.

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Mike Hopkins

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