The Providence College men’s basketball team defeated the Seton Hall Pirates (6-10, 1-4 BIG EAST), 91-85, on Saturday, January 11 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. The Friars improved to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in BIG EAST play. Senior guard Bensley Joseph (Arlington, Mass.) came off the bench to lead the Providence offense with a career-high 28 points, highlighted by a personal-best seven three-pointers on nine attempts. Freshman forward Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) recorded his first career double-double, contributing 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  He also added a career-high five blocks.  It marked the first time a Friar freshman to have five blocks in a game since 2011.  It also marked just the second time ever a Friar freshman had five blocks in a  BIG EAST game.   “It was a great BIG EAST win for our group,” Head Coach Kim English said. “I wanted to thank our fans for continuing to show up through the snow and the cold. I thought our players put together another great week of practice and made a great transition to play a different Seton Hall team. Our guys deserve a lot of credit. Everyone contributed to a great win against a really tough team.”   FIRST HALF: Wesley Cardet Jr. (Tallahassee, Fla.) put the Friars on the board first with a layup 27 seconds into the game. The Friars got off to a hot start offensively, shooting above 70% (71.4) through their first 13 shots. The Friars held a slim 11-10 lead with 14:26 minutes left in the half. With 8:22 remaining in the game and the score tied, Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) and Joseph  teammed up to score five quick points to give the Friars a 29-24 lead and force a Pirate timeout. Joseph became the first Friar to reach double figures in scoring with a step-back jumper, which also made him a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. With 42 seconds left in the half, the Pirates took advantage of a two-minute PC scoring drought and managed to tie the score. Both teams entered the locker room deadlocked at 41-41. The half marked a back-and-forth battle highlighted by eight lead changes and six ties. Providence shot 14-31 (45.2%) from the field, 7-17 (41.2%) from three, and 6-7 (85.7%) from the free-throw line. Seton Hall shot 16-32 (50.0%) from the field, 5-14 (35.7%) from three and 4-4 (100%) from the free throw line.   SECOND HALF: Erhunmwunse kicked-off the game’s second-half scoring with an emphatic dunk off the hands of Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, N.J.). Joseph found Eli DeLaurier (Shipman, Va.) for a wide-open three at the 14:01 mark. The basket ended a brief field goal drought for the Friars. PC led 53-49. Floyd Jr. ensued with a basket that secured him a spot in the double-digit scoring column. DeLaurier followed with another three. The Friars held an eight-point advantage, 58-50, as they entered the under-12 timeout (12:54). Momentum swung in favor of Seton Hall halfway through the half. With a little less than 10 minutes remaining, the Pirates took advantage of four Friar turnovers to cap off a 10-0 run and take a 62-60 lead. Floyd, Jr. ended PC’s scoreless streak with two clutch free throws to tie the game at 62-62. The two teams traded leads before Mela sank a jumper in the paint and Erhunmwumnse came up with a crucial block on the defensive end to preserve a slim 64-63 advantage heading into the under-8 timeout (7:45). Providence regained a significant lead with a 9-0 surge spearheaded by two threes from Joseph. The Friars held off the Pirates in the closing minutes to secure the victory. As the final whistle blew, PC closed out the game with a final score of 91-85. HIGHLIGHTS:   Providence finished 28-52 (53.8%) from the field, 12-25 (48.0%) from three, and 23-33 (69.7%) from the free-throw line. Seton Hall finished 31-69 (44.9%) from the field, 7-22 (31.8%) from three, and 16-20 (80.0%) from the free-throw line. Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Joseph (28), Floyd Jr. (14), Erhunmwunse (12) and Pierre (10). Joseph’s 28 points came off the bench and included seven three-pointers which marked a new career high. Joseph beat his personal best of 21 points that he tied against Central Connecticut earlier this season (11/4/24). There were 10 lead changes in the game and nine ties. Erhunmwunse recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. He also added a career-high five blocks. The Friars outscored the Pirates 40-12 in bench points. NOTES: The last time the Friars scored 84 or more points in three consecutive BIG EAST games was in 1987. Tonight’s game marked the 115th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Friars have now registered a 59-56 mark all-time versus Seton Hall, including a 31-19 record at home. UP NEXT: The Friars travel to Omaha, Neb. to play the Creighton Bluejays (10-6, 3-2 BIG EAST) on Tuesday, January 14 at the CHI Health Center. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on FS1. Categories: Sports