Stat Leaders

• Providence caught a bit of a break when Xavier’s leading scorer Trevon Bluiett sat this game out after injuring his ankle on Saturday in the Musketeers’ loss to Villanova. Bluiett was in a knee-high boot in street clothes before the game.
• Whistles were plentiful early in this game with a combined 13 fouls called between the two teams at the Under-12 media timeout at the 11:17 mark. 8 of those 13 were called against Providence. During the early part of the game the Friars were ice cold and Xavier went on a 12-0 run to take a 14-6 lead. The Friars used a late run against a Xavier scoring drought to keep the game close at the half. Kyron Cartwright hit a put-back off a Jalen Lindsey miss just before the buzzer sounded to pull Providence within 2, 31-29.
• The second half went all Providence early and the Friars dug out a  9 point lead at the under-8 media timeout with 7:45 left. They shot 64.5% from the field in the second stanza and were too much for the undermanned Musketeers to handle.
• Cartwright was very good scoring the ball for stretches in this game and seemed to be carrying the load while the rest of the Friars were trying to get going. He finished with 17 points and 5 assists to go with 7 rebounds on the night and his gravity defying basket at the end of the first half was one of the more impressive plays this season by a Providence player.
• Bullock had a good shooting game and also did well on the boards. He finished with 16 points on 6/11 shooting and 10 rebounds on the night. He also had 4 assists and 3 blocks.
• Lindsey made some key shots in this game, going 3/6 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points. He also pulled down 5 rebounds and played very good defense all night.
• Isaiah Jackson gave Providence good energy off the bench for a second straight game. He played physical defense and even got in on the scoring. Jackson scored 10 points on 5/7 from the field.
• RaShid Gaston couldn’t be stopped by Providence most of the night. He led Xavier with 19 points on 8/10 shooting. He also grabbed 14 rebounds, 4 being offensive.
• JP Macura was the only other Musketeer in double figures. He scored 17 points on 6/18 shooting and was just 1/7 from beyond the arc.
• Providence shot 49% for the game and made 6/20 from beyond the arc. Xavier shot 43% for the game and made 8 of their 17 3-point attempts. The Musketeers grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, converting them into 14 second chance points. Providence matched Xavier with 36 points in the paint.
• The Friars get their second week-long bye and travel to Omaha to face Creighton at the CenturyLink Center. The game tips Wednesday, February 22nd at 9:00pm EST. The game will be televised on FSN. I’ll have the television listings for that game a couple days before it tips.

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Mike Hopkins

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