



PROVIDENCE—Question:

When can you shoot 36 percent from the floor and still win comfortably?

Answer:

When you hold the opposition to below 30 percent.

And that’s the way it played out on Saturday afternoon—the definition of “winning ugly.”

The Providence College Friars team rode a team-high 15-point performance byto defeat the Rhode Island Rams Saturday afternoon, 59-50, before a raucous, sellout crowd of 12,997 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.The starting lineup of, Jimmy Nichols Jr.,andis starting to become a regular for head coachwho the lineup for the fifth-consecutive game on Saturday. Over their last five games with this lineup they now hold a 4-1 record, with the lone loss coming against Michigan.Reeves led the starters with 15 points, four rebounds and a steal.Rhode Island took a quick lead after a layup off the tip-off and a bucket in the paint before Providence used an 8-0 run to take a 10-4 lead.Reeves welcomed himself to the Ocean State rivalry with a backdoor cut for a layup followed by back-to-back threes, one from the top of the key then a contested three from the wing off a dish from Duke.Reeves scored eight of the Friars first 10 points to hold a 10-6 lead at the first media timeout (15:59).The Friars defense held strong in the opening minutes, forcing contested layups and fadeaway jump shots.(Arlington, Va.) entered the game at the 14:42 mark and played a strong presence in the paint all game.Watson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, he shot 5-8 from the field.Watson scored back-to-back layups in the paint over Cyril Langevine,(Gainesville, Fla.) then hit a deep three from the left wing to increase their lead to 18-12 (11:42).Young notched his second dunk of the game after setting a screen for(Richmond, Va.) at the top of the key, Rhode Island's center trailed White leaving Young wide open for the slip pass and finish.Fatts Russell converted a three from left wing later in the half to bring Rhode Island within four at the 3:46 mark, 27-23. Providence outscored Rhode Island 12-4 through the rest of the half, capped off by a three from Jackson on the left wing to give them a 12-point lead heading into the locker room, 39-27.The Friars scored 21 bench points in the half compared to the Rams' two, Rhode Island shot just 44.4% from the charity stripe (4-9). Watson led Providence in the first half with nine points and three rebounds.Reeves opened the scoring in the second half with a three from the right wing on the assist from Young.Both teams struggled from the field in the first eight minutes of play, the teams combined to shoot 3-17 from the field. Providence's lone basket came on the Reeves three. Providence and Rhode Island both reached the bonus with more than 12 minutes to play.PC fought through a 4:46 scoring drought that the Rams capitalized on with a 7-0 run of their own. They brought the game within seven with 11:37 to play, 44-37. That marked the closest the Rams would get the remainder of the game. The combo of Reeves and Watson stopped the run, scoring back-to-back layups in the paint.The Friars led 56-46 with 4:28 left in the game after Tyrese Martin hit Rhode Island's second three-pointer of the night. Rhode Island struggled from three-point territory all game long, shooting just 2-18 from behind the three-point line.Free-throws defined the second half as both teams combined for a total of just 10 field goals. Rhode Island shot 10-17 from the free-throw line in the second half while Providence shot 11-21.With the win, PC improves to 6-2 on the young season, while Rhody falls to 3-3. The Friars are 74-55 all-time versus the Rams.The Friars now travel to Chestnut Hill where they will challenge the Boston College Eagles on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.