Gallery: (December 14, 2024) MBB vs. St. Bonaventure

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated by the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (10-1) 74-70 in a Hall of Fame Showcase game on Saturday, December 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville defeated. Conn. The Friars completed non-conference play posting an overall record of 7-5.

“It was a disappointing result, but I give the Bonnies a lot of respect,” said head coach Kim English said. “We have to be tougher and we will go back to the drawing board and improve.”

FIRST HALF:

• St. Bonaventure scored first with two layups to start the game with a 4-0 lead. Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, NJ) responded with a three-point basket (17:43).

• The Friars went on a scoring drought that led to the first media timeout (15-12). The brothers trailed 6-3.

• Coming out of the first time out, Jabri Abdur-Rahim (South Orange, NJ) drew a foul on a three-point attempt. The graduate student made all three free throws to make the score 6:08 (15:08).

• The Bonnies responded with a quick 9-0 run to take a 15-6 lead with 12:43 left in the first.

• Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) hit a three-pointer that ended a scoreless drought for the Friars and cut the Bonnies’ lead to four, 15-11 (9:59).

• St. Bonaventure responded with four straight points to extend its lead to 19-11 before the media timeout ended under eight minutes (7:45).

• The Bonnies extended their lead to 24-11 after a 9-0 lead (6:23).

• Wesley Cardet Jr. (Tallahassee, Fla.) broke the Friars’ four-minute scoring drought with a three-pointer, cutting St. Bonaventure’s lead to 24-14 with 6:00 left.

• During a back-and-forth game, Cardet Jr. took advantage of an opportunity that gave the senior six straight points. The Friars trailed 26-17 with 4:29 left.

• The Bonnies ended the timeout with a quick layup. Jayden Pierre responded with a putback play. St. Bonaventure led 30-20 (2:50).

• As the teams exchanged baskets, Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) converted a second chance, followed by Pierre sinking two free throws to cut the Bonnies’ lead to 33-24 with 1:46 left.

• In the last minute of the first half, the two teams traded points again. St. Bonaventure had a 35-26 lead at halftime.

• Cardet led the Friar group with six points in the first half.

• PC outscored the Bonnies 11-2 in bench points.

• Providence shot 7-26 (26.9%) from the field, 3-15 (20.0%) from three and 9-10 (90.0%) from the free throw line.

• St. Bonaventure shot 14-37 (37.8%) from the field, 2-8 (25.0%) from three and 5-6 (83.3%) from the free throw line.

SECOND HALF:

• Cardet started the Friars’ scoring in the second half with two free throws (19:17).

• As the two teams began to go back and forth, Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) threw down a confident dunk after 19 minutes that shifted the momentum in the Friars’ favor. St. Bonaventure led 39-30.

• Pierre answered three St. Bonaventure free throws with a smooth mid-range jump shot at 17:16.

• Barron hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Bonnie lead to seven (45-38) before the U16s’ media timeout (115-37).

• Mela’s bank shot in the lane triggered a decisive offensive boost for PC as Bensley Joseph (Arlington, Mass.) capitalized on the energy with a three-pointer from the top of the key. That 5-0 sequence cut St. Bonaventure’s lead to just five points, 48-43, with 13:16 remaining.

• Pierre hit a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the Bonnies’ lead to three before the media timeout lasted less than 12 minutes (11:11).

• After the timeout, the Bonnies responded with five straight points to extend the lead to 55-48 (9:45).

• The Bonnies hit back-to-back three-pointers in the game to extend the lead back to nine after a media timeout less than eight minutes (7:15). The brothers trailed, 61-56.

• When Pierre came out of the timeout, he made a three-pointer. The teams battled back and forth as Mela hit two free throws to cut the deficit to five (5:52).

• The Bonnies hit two quick shots in a row in the game, extending the lead back to eight at 3:34.

• The two teams exchanged baskets as Cardet knocked down a three-minute corner and the Friars got within five points, 69-64 (1:45).

• Joseph grabbed a critical steal and layup in transition to bring the Friars back to within three points (1:00).

• The Bonnies made two free throws and took the lead again at 71-66 (0:27).

• Erhunmwunse scored a putback dunk in transition. The Friars trailed 71-68 with 21 seconds left.

• With six seconds left, Erhunmwunse got to the line and tried to convert an and-one. A missed free throw attempt led to a second chance for Cardet, but it was converted. There are less than two seconds left.

• The Friars fell 74-70.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Providence finished the game 20-56 (35.7%) from the field, 10-32 (31.3%) from three and 20-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line.

• St. Bonaventure finished the game 25-60 (41.7%) from the field, 4-14 (28.6%) from three and 20-28 (71.4%) from the free throw line.

• Two brothers scored in double figures: Wesley Cardet Jr. (13) and Jayden Pierre (12).

• The Friars finished with 24 bench points to lead the Bonnies by two points.

• The Friars outscored the Bonnies 44-39 in the second half.

• Melven Council Jr. scored a game-high 24 points for the Bonnies.

NOTES

• The Friars now have an 11-13 all-time record against St. Bonaventure.

• This was the first meeting between the brothers and the Bonnies since January 4, 1980.

• Today’s game was the first time the two teams met on a neutral site.

• The Friars now have a record of 157-115 against current teams in the A10.

• Today’s game was the Friars’ third contest this season against an A10 school (0-3).

• The Friars now have a 3-5 all-time record at Mohegan Sun Arena.

NEXT

Providence will return to Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island for its BIG EAST home opener against St. John’s (8-2) on Friday, December 20th. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on FOX. Tickets can be purchased at Friars.com or by calling 401-865-GOPC.

The Red Storm lead the all-time series against the Friars 66-58, but Providence has a 31-24 advantage in home games against St. John’s. The teams’ last meeting was on February 13, 2024, with the Friars earning a 75-72 victory at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. In their BIG EAST home opener last season on December 19, 2023, the Friars pulled off a 72-57 upset over No. 6/6 Marquette at AMP.

-Go brothers!-