Al Durham scored 19 points and Nate Watson added 17 as Providence posted a 69-58 home victory over New Hampshire on Thursday.
Durham and Watson combined to shoot 13-of-17 for the Friars (4-0), who shot a crisp 55.1 percent from the field despite a 4-of-15 performance from 3-point range. Noah Horchler registered 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, while Justin Minaya contributed eight points and 10 boards off the bench.
The Wildcats (1-2) were paced by Qon Murphy’s 15 points and Nick Guadarrama’s 13 points. Blondeau Tchoukuiegno pitched in eight points and seven assists for New Hampshire, which fell to 1-16 in the all-time series.
The teams jockeyed back and forth early in the second half before the Friars opened up a 55-43 lead, capped by Watson’s layup with 10:18 to play. The Wildcats did not score from the 14:42 mark until Guadarrama’s bucket with 7:55 remaining.
Watson’s three-point play with 5:16 left increased the advantage to 62-49. He added a layup on Providence’s next possession, as well.
New Hampshire snuck back within eight as Jayden Martinez knocked down a 3-pointer and Murphy made two foul shots. But Horchler responded with a 3-pointer of his own, and the Wildcats never seriously threatened again.
Providence led 30-27 at half behind eight points apiece from Durham and Watson. The Friars led by 10 with under seven minutes left before Murphy made two 3-pointers to highlight a 9-2 push by the visitors.
New Hampshire stayed close in the first half thanks to its bench. The Wildcats’ starters scored only 11 first-half points on 5-of-18 shooting, while the reserves had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, led by Murphy (11 points, 4-of-5).
The game was extremely clean as the teams combined for only nine turnovers, with New Hampshire committing just three. Providence dominated the boards, 37-23, highlighted by Horchler’s second double-double of the season.
–Field Level Media
