Notes:

• Ben Bentil had an excellent first half to lead all scorers with 17 points at the break. The Friars offense started off sluggish and out of rhythm but it was Bentil who got things going. He went 7/7 from the free throw line and finished 10/11 from the charity stripe. Bentil finished with a career high 24 points. He also grabbed 8 rebounds.
• Kris Dunn started slow but picked things up toward the end of the first half and carried it over to the second half where Providence opened up a large lead — largest was 19 — in the first 5 minutes. Dunn finished with 18 points on 7/15 shooting. He also added 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
• Rodney Bullock was quiet on offense but was active on the glass. He pulled down 7 rebounds but scored just 7 points after starting 0/5 from the field. Bullock didn’t get involved in the offensive flow much during the early part of the game and it looked like he was out of sync most of the night.
• Ryan Fazekas made some critical 3-pointers at a time when the Friars’ offense was lackluster. He finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
• Junior Lomomba continues to defy physics and make 3-pointers. Lomomba scored 9 points in the second half and finished with 13 points on 4/8 from the field.
• The only freshman besides Fazekas to get minutes in this game was Quadree Smith and those minutes only came in the first half.
• I’ll never understand the logic behind starting this game playing zone. DJ Balentine quickly shot the Friars out of it with 2 deep treys.
• Friars return to action Friday at 11:30pm EST on ESPN2 against the winner/loser of the Arizona vs. Santa Clara game in the second round of the Wooden Legacy Tournament.

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Mike Hopkins

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