Bryce Hopkins scored a game-high 24 points as host Providence earned its third consecutive win over rival Rhode Island 84-69 on Saturday night.
Providence (7-1) shot 58.1 percent from the field in the second half to pull away for the win.
All five Friar starters scored in double figures, including Devin Carter, who posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Jaden House led Rhode Island with 18 points on three 3-pointers.
Rhode Island knotted the score at 38 on Zek Montgomery’s inside jumper 2:08 into the second half, but Providence immediately responded with a 7-0 run that included a Carter trey and Hopkins dunk.
Two of the following three baskets belonged to the Rams, then Hopkins followed with another three that extended the Friar lead to 50-42 at the 15:16 mark.
Carter’s drive to the basket gave Providence a nine-point lead before pushback from the visitors when Montgomery drained a 3-pointer off a missed free throw halfway through the latter period.
Three-point plays by Hopkins and Pierre during the following segment allowed Providence to move its lead back out to double-digits with under nine minutes to play. A Hopkins dunk at the 7:15 mark punctuated a 9-2 run.
House’s 3-pointer began a mini 5-0 spurt in response, but Davonte Gaines posted one of his own with 3:48 left as part of a late 10-2 run.
Carter’s five early points — including a steal and slam dunk finish on the break — helped the Friars take a 10-7 lead at the first media timeout.
The visitors, who started just 5-for-16 from the field, never led in the first half after holding a 5-3 edge 4:02 into the game. A pair of House triples past the midway mark of the period brought Rhode Island within 21-18, and his layup with 5:36 left made it just a two-point game.
Providence answered that bucket with an 8-3 run, getting a Garwey Dual layup in the late stages of the first to make the lead 35-28. Rhode Island had the last two baskets of the half, including a Luis Kortright driving layup before the buzzer.
–Field Level Media
