Nate Watson scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half as No. 16 Providence remained unbeaten at home with an 83-73 victory over St. John’s on Saturday afternoon.
Watson was in foul trouble in the first half but came alive in the second when Providence (14-2, 4-1 Big East) shot 59.3 percent, outscored St. John’s 48-35 and improved its home record to 10-0.
Watson made 9 of 11 shots from the field after scoring a combined 11 points on 5-of-20 shooting in the previous two games.
Jared Bynum added a season-high 18 points as Providence shot 50.9 percent from the floor for the game and bounced back from its 88-56 loss at Marquette on Tuesday to give coach Ed Cooley his 300th career win. Justin Minaya and Al Durham chipped 13 apiece as the Friars withstood the absence of A.J. Reeves (broken finger), who missed his second straight game.
Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting and Aaron Wheeler added 15 off the bench as St. John’s (9-4, 1-1) shot 36.8 percent in the second half and 41.1 percent overall. Posh Alexander contributed 14 points but leading scorer Julian Champagnie never got into a rhythm, finishing with 11 on 5 of 19 attempts from the floor after scoring a career-best 34 against DePaul.
Alexander scored 12 points as the Red Storm held a 38-35 lead by halftime after neither team led by more than four points. Alexander’s hoop put St. John’s up 46-39 with 16:33 left but he went scoreless the rest of the way and Providence gradually seized control.
The Friars used a 14-4 run to take a 53-50 lead after Bynum made a nifty behind-the-back pass to Minaya for a layup with 12:10 left.
Watson’s dunk and free throw made it 65-58 with 6:41 left, and Bynum’s crossover layup upped the lead to 69-60 a little over a minute later. The advantage reached 72-60 after Minaya hit an open 3-pointer to essentially clinch it.
–Field Level Media
