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Recap

• Providence got off to a hot start, making their first four field goals. Butler, on the other hand, made just one of their first five from the field. The Friars, led by Nate Watson down low, looked much more fluid on offense in the first 10 minutes, or so, of the first half. Watson and Alpha Diallo went to the bench with 2 fouls a piece for the final 6+ minutes of the half and that’s when Providence started to slowly cede their double-digit lead that got as high as 14. The Bulldogs finished the half on a 7-0 run that coincided with a 2:50 scoring drought for the Friars, and Providence led, 32-27, at the break.
• The Friars opened the second half with a turnover and Watson picking up his 3rd foul. He would stay in the game and score the first four Providence points of the half. The Bulldogs tied the game at 37 with 15:27 and Diallo picked up his 3rd foul about a minute later. Cooley stayed with the junior and rewarded his coach by sinking a triple for his first field goal of the game nearly 26 minutes into the action. That would be short-lived once Diallo was whistled for his 4th foul at the 11:20 mark and this time he would sit on the bench. Butler took their first lead of the game since the 18:44 mark of the first half when big man Joey Brunk made 1/2 free throws with the game tied at 42. Makai Ashton-Langford made a pair of free throws then Baldwin made two of his own to seesaw the lead back and forth. Cooley went back to Diallo with 8:15 to go despite the 4 fouls. The Friars were in the midst of a nearly 5 minute field goal drought at that point and Butler was up by 3. Diallo scored right away with a jumper and 1/2 free throws. A tough baseline jumper by AJ Reeves and then an old fashioned 3-point play by Watson got the Friars back in front, 52-49, with a little more than 5 minutes remaining. Brunk made a tough basket inside and then the teams spent nearly the next 3 minutes trading missed 3-pointers. Diallo hit a jumper out of the Under-4 media timeout, and a David Duke steal led to a transition basket for Watson. The Friars followed that with an alley-oop from Ashton-Langford to Reeves to burst ahead by 7 all of a sudden with 1:49 left. This was part of a 12-2 run over a roughly 6 minute stretch. Jordan Tucker made a pair of free throws and followed that up with an And-1 after Ashton-Langford missed the front end of a 1-and-1. That brought Butler to within 2 with 56.3 seconds left in the half. After a Providence timeout it was Diallo scoring at the rim, but Nate Fowler responded at the other end with a 3-pointer to make it a 1 point game, 60-59, with 21.4 on the clock. Isaiah Jackson was fouled on the in-bound after a Butler timeout and he made both free throws to make it a 3 point game with 18.4 to go. Baldwin tied the game at 62 with a triple with 10.5 remaining. Cooley used his final timeout and Duke got a wide open look from 3, but the freshman couldn’t connect and Watson’s tip attempt fell short. The game headed to overtime.
• Butler won the tip, but Baldwin didn’t connect on the 3-point attempt. Diallo missed a 3 on the other end but Jackson grabbed the offensive rebound and Watson converted on the second chance to give Providence a 2 point lead 1:20 into overtime. Aaron Thompson made 1/2 at the line on Butler’s subsequent offensive trip. Next time it was Jackson missing a 3 and Diallo cleaning up the rebound. Diallo was fouled by Tucker and he would go 1/2. The Friars led by 2 with 2:54 to go in overtime. Tucker made 1/2 at the line and Baldwin scored after Thompson stripped Watson to give Butler the lead. Jackson answered with a key 3-pointer to put Providence back ahead, 68-66. After several attempts by Butler, Duke made an athletic dunk stopping block to keep the Friars ahead by 2. Jackson, who was the best player on both sides of the ball in overtime, made another big-time 3-pointer from more than 30 feet as the shot clock expired. The Friars got a stop and iced the game at the free throw line to save the game they almost gave away with freshman mistakes in the final minute of regulation.
• Providence was led by Watson with 21 points on 8/10 from the field. He also pulled down 5 boards. Diallo and Jackson added 14 points each.
• Butler was led by Baldwin with 27 points on 8/20 shooting. Tucker scored 15 points and Fowler added 10 for the Bulldogs.
• The Friars travel to Omaha after their second and final bye week of the season to take on Creighton at CHI Health Center next Wednesday. That game tips at 8:00pm and will air on CBSSN.

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Mike Hopkins

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