PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Providence Friars played their 750th game at Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Tuesday night, a run dating to 1972, but it was the very first to feature two top-10 teams, the 10th-ranked Friars and No. 7 Xavier.

But history could do little for Providence, a charter member of the Big East. The Friars (17-4, 5-3 Big East) fell to Xavier, which joined the conference three seasons ago, 75-68, before a raucous sellout crowd of 12,804.

The first half was a sloppy affair as the teams combined for 22 turnovers. Xavier (18-2, 6-2) had a 14-point lead in the second half when the Providence sophomore forward Ben Bentil, the Big East’s leading scorer, found his range. He scored 16 of his game-high 25 points, including his 18th and 19th 3-pointers of the season, and led a frenetic Friars comeback.

After Providence cut the deficit to 3 points with 80 seconds left, Xavier rushed the ball into the halfcourt. Coach Chris Mack tried to tell his team to call timeout. Instead the ball found its way to the sophomore reserve J. P. Macura, who swished a 3-pointer to swing the game back.