Stat Leaders

• Providence got off to a hot start, making 6 of their first 9 from beyond the arc and got out to an 8-point lead at the 11:07 mark. The next 9 minutes of action saw the game seesaw back the other way as the Friars missed dunks, layups and gave the ball away while allowing Creighton to get easy baskets on the other end. The Bluejays got up 13 with 2:07 left but Providence used a 6-0 from that point until the first half buzzer to only be down by 7 at the half.
• The second half was a back-and-forth affair for most of the entire 20 minutes. Creighton maintained the lead the majority of the time after briefly relinquishing it early in the final half. This was one of the more exciting finishes in the Big East this season.
• Kyron. Cartwright. He was having a very good game throughout, but it was the shot he made with 2.4 seconds remaining that was the cherry on top. Cartwright’s 3-pointer took Providence from down 1 to up 2 with 2.4 left and Creighton failed to convert on their final shot at the buzzer. Cartwright scored 13 points and dished 10 assists against just 1 turnover in 36 minutes of action.

ALL. NET.

Kyron Cartwright with ice in his veins for @PCFriarsmbb. #MarchToMSG pic.twitter.com/4UkqbHsMju

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) February 23, 2017

• Emmitt Holt made a few key 3-pointers despite taking some ill-advised ones and did an admirable job guarding Creighton’s freshman phenom big man Justin Patton. Holt finished the game with 18 points to lead Providence. He finished the game 3/6 from beyond the arc.
• Rodney Bullock scored the ball fairly well in this game but dealt with second-half foul trouble to miss a large chunk of time. Bullock scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds on the night.
• Isaiah Jackson played a very good game off the bench for Ed Cooley. Jackson gave good effort on the defensive end and even did some nice things on offense. He finished with 11 points in 22 minutes and got the key assist when he fed Cartwright for the game-winner.
• Alpha Diallo drew the assignment of guarding the Big East’s second leading scorer, Marcus Foster, for good chunks of this game. Diallo didn’t do a lockdown job on Foster but bothered him at times and provided playmaking on the offensive end. Diallo only scored 4 points but had 9 rebounds.
• Providence hasn’t had a go-to scorer this entire season and that fact has cost them some close games. It seemed like no Friar wanted to take the final shot with the ball being tossed around like a hot potato until Cartwright caught the pass and confidently stroked the deep triple that would be the game-winning basket for Providence to keep their hopes for a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament alive.
• Creighton was led by Foster with 18 points but he was an inefficient 6/16 from the field. Justin Patton also chipped in 17 points despite playing only 26 minutes, mostly due to first-half foul trouble. Khyri Thomas was everyone on the floor for Greg McDermott’s team. He led the Bluejays with 9 rebounds while scoring 12 points and playing excellent defense.
• Both teams shot 44% from the field in this game with the Friars holding a decided advantage from beyond the arc. Providence went 12/24 from downtown against 6/16 by the Bluejays.
• Providence led for just 7:10 in this game with the majority of that time coming in the first half of the first half.
• The Friars heads back to Friartown and welcomes Marquette to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center looking for their first-ever season sweep of the Golden Eagles. The game tips Saturday, February 25th at 4:00pm EST. The game will be televised on CBSSN.

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Mike Hopkins

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