Bulldogs' upset bid over No. 15 Providence falls short, 74-67, Saturday in capital city

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team led by as many as 11 points in the first half but would trail by as many as 12 in the second before falling to No. 15/18 Providence College, 74-67, Saturday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

With the Bulldogs (2-9) holding onto a double-digit cushion for over five full minutes in the opening frame, momentum shifted in favor of the Friars (10-1) when leading scorer Ben Bentil, who did not start, entered the game for the first time at the 5:15 mark. His insertion changed the complexion of the contest, with Bryant missing 15 of its final 19 shots in the opening half and the Friars outscoring the Bulldogs, 53-39, for the remainder of game.

The Bryant starters accounted for 64 of the team's 67 points, as junior forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) paced four Black and Gold players to finish in double figures. The bigman netted 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field to go along with nine boards, a pair of assists and two blocks.

Senior captain Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) finished with a season-high 14 points – 12 of which came in the second half – and six rebounds. Starting guards Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Freshman bigman Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) posted a team-best 10 boards while adding nine points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor, also dishing out four assists and grabbing two steals.

Freshman reserve Drew Edwards guided the Friars to the victory with a career-best 17 points – all coming in the second half – on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-9 effort from beyond the arc. Bentil finished with 16 points off the bench, going 5-for-10 from the floor and draining a contest-leading six free throws (8 rebounds). Jalen Lindsey had a stellar second-half performance as well, scoring 10 of his 15 points in the stanza, while Rodney Bullock charted 13 points and a game-best 14 rebounds in the win.

The Bulldogs shot just under 45 percent from the floor (27-61) and hit 45 percent from long range (9-20) in the contest. After the Black and Gold held the Friars to 35 percent shooting from the floor (12-34) and just a 1-for-14 clip from downtown in the first half, the home side shot over 50 percent from both locations in the second session, finishing the game at 43.3 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from 3-point land.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 11-5 lead just five minutes into the opening half thanks to Garvin's 3-for-3 start. A Ware three gave the Bulldogs their first 10-point advantage at the 12:34 mark, and a second triple from the Powder Springs, Ga., native made it 23-12 midway through the frame to give the Black and Gold their largest lead of the game.

Trailing, 28-19, Bentil sank his first shot attempt after entering the contest to pull PC within seven at the 4:04 mark. And after a Gus Riley (Nelson, New Zealand) free throw made it 29-21, the Friars went on a 7-0 run spanning just over a minute, capped off by a Bullock three to close Bryant's lead to 29-28 with 42 seconds to go.

But with the home crowd completely engaged, Ware would pickpocket Bullock in the final seconds and drain a three at the buzzer to silence the crowd and give the Black and Gold a 32-28 lead heading into the locker room at the break.

The Friars opened up the second with the first five points of the half, including a Lindsey three that would give the home side its first lead of the game, 33-32, at the 17:18 mark. The Bulldogs turned the ball over six times during the first 4:30 of the stanza, firing just two shots in the same stretch.

Providence would ride that momentum to its largest lead of the game, 59-47, with 7:59 to play after an Edwards three and a Bentil layup capped off a 10-0 Friar run that spanned nearly four full minutes.   

A Pettway layup with 7:05 remaining ended a scoring drought that lasted almost five full minutes for the Bulldogs, cutting the visitors' deficit to 59-49. A Garvin offensive board followed by a nice finish inside led to a three-point play that would make it 59-52 in favor of the Friars with just over six minutes left in the game.

After a Bentil alley-oop dunk on the ensuing possession, Lindsey banked in a triple to give the Friars their second 12-point advantage, 64-52, with just under four minutes remaining.

The Bulldogs would cut into the deficit but could not trim the margin to less than seven from that point, as Providence took the hard-fought win, 74-67.

Bryant will look to recharge its batteries with 10 days in between contests before the Bulldogs hit the hardwood again on Dec. 23 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The game against the Wolverines is set for 7:00 p.m. and can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.