TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Kadeem Batts scored 24 points and LaDontae Henton had 19 as Providence overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to beat South Florida 76-66 Wednesday night.
Providence (13-11, 5-7), which has won three consecutive Big East games for the first time since 2008-09, also got 13 points from Bryce Cotton. The Friars were coming off a 54-50 win over then-No. 17 Cincinnati on Feb. 6 in which Batts had 25 points and nine rebounds.
Batts scored 16 of his points during the second half. Providence, keyed by Vincent Council's 3-pointer and a go-ahead basket by Kris Dunn, scored the first 17 points of the second to take a 42-36 lead with 13 minutes left.
Victor Rudd had 26 points and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick chipped in 14 for South Florida (10-14, 1-11), which has lost seven in a row. The Bulls scored 50 points or less in four of their previous six games.
Rudd made a 3-pointer as the Bulls pulled within 66-61 with 2 minutes to go.
Council, who finished with 11 points, and Cotton helped preserve the Friars' win by making a combined six free throws down the stretch.
JaVontae Hawkins scored South Florida's first points in the second half on a basket with 12:57 remaining.
Providence went ahead 48-38 on Henton's dunk, which was part of a 23-2 second-half opening surge.
Rudd had 12 points to help South Florida grab a 36-25 halftime lead. The forward returned after missing one game because of a groin injury.
Anthony Collins' layup gave South Florida a 34-20 advantage 2 minutes before intermission.
Fitzpatrick made a 3 and Rudd had a dunk as South Florida took an early 10-2 lead. Baskets by Kore White and Collins extended the Bulls advantage to 20-7.
Henton connected on a long-range jumper during a 10-0 run that got Providence within 20-17 midway through the first.
The Bulls ended a 6-minute scoring drought when Martino Brock's jumper made it 22-17 with 6:30 to go in the half.
| Scoreboard | |||
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
| Providence (13-11) « | 25 | 51 | 76 |
| South Florida (10-14) | 36 | 30 | 66 |
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| Providence Friars | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| K. Batts, F | 37 | 8-16 | 8-10 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 |
| L. Henton, F | 37 | 7-10 | 3-4 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 19 |
| B. Cotton, G | 40 | 3-11 | 6-6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| V. Council, G | 33 | 3-6 | 4-4 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| K. Dunn, G | 24 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| J. Fortune | 14 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| T. Bancroft | 9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Goldsbrough | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Kofane | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 25-49 | 21-25 | 28 | 22 | 14 | 76 | |
| 51% | 84% | ||||||
| South Florida Bulls | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| T. Fitzpatrick, F | 38 | 5-13 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| V. Rudd, F | 34 | 10-18 | 3-4 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 26 |
| K. White, F | 28 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| A. Collins, G | 39 | 5-13 | 2-3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| J. Hawkins, G | 19 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| M. Brock | 25 | 1-5 | 4-6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Z. LeDay | 10 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| J. Poland | 6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Omogbehin | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 25-58 | 9-14 | 34 | 15 | 20 | 66 | |
| 43.1% | 64.3% | ||||||
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