PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Guard Bryce Cotton scored 22 points, including two foul shots with 5 seconds left, and forward LaDontae Henton dropped in 18 points as Providence won its fifth Big East game of the month, 76-72, over Rutgers on Saturday night.
Kadeem Batts added 14 points and Vincent Council had 12 to give Providence (15-12, 7-8) four players in double figures. Providence is 5-1 in six February Big East games, with its only loss coming against No. 8 Syracuse last Wednesday.
Dane Miller came off the bench to lead Rutgers (13-13, 4-10) with 17 points and reserve Kadeem Jack was the second-leading scorer for the Scarlet Knights with a career-high 15 points.
Jack's free throw had cut the Rutgers deficit to 64-60 with 4:17 left to play, but Cotton helped seal it for the Friars with a two-handed dunk off a fast break and then converted a reverse layup after hauling in a Kris Dunn pass on a dash down the court. The second basket made it 68-61 with 3 minutes to go.
Rutgers, which led by as many as 11 points in the first half, held a 33-23 advantage with 4:41 left before the break. But Providence, sparked by Cotton, scored 19 straight points over the final 4:16 to take a 42-33 lead at intermission.
Cotton ignited the run with a pull-up jumper and capped the spree by completing a four-point play on a 3-pointer and foul shot with 41.3 seconds showing. He then nailed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds to go. Council contributed a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup in the Friars' streak.
Providence hit 8 of 20 3-pointers, led by Cotton and Henton with three apiece. The Friars sank 18 of 24 free throws. Rutgers hit 17 of 24 foul shots.
| Scoreboard | |||
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
| Providence (15-12) « | 42 | 34 | 76 |
| Rutgers (13-13) | 33 | 39 | 72 |
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| Providence Friars | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| L. Henton, F | 36 | 7-11 | 1-1 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| K. Batts, F | 28 | 4-11 | 6-6 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 14 |
| B. Cotton, G | 39 | 7-18 | 5-6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 22 |
| V. Council, G | 35 | 4-13 | 3-6 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| K. Dunn, G | 34 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| J. Fortune | 11 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| B. Kofane | 11 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| L. Goldsbrough | 6 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Totals | 25-61 | 18-24 | 37 | 15 | 17 | 76 | |
| 41% | 75% | ||||||
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| W. Judge, F | 27 | 2-7 | 3-5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| A. Johnson, F | 15 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| M. Mack, G | 34 | 3-10 | 2-3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| M. Poole, G | 28 | 5-12 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| J. Seagears, G | 19 | 2-8 | 2-2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| K. Jack | 29 | 6-11 | 3-4 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
| D. Miller | 27 | 6-9 | 4-6 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| M. Kone | 12 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| D. Randall | 9 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Totals | 26-64 | 17-24 | 44 | 9 | 21 | 72 | |
| 40.6% | 70.8% | ||||||
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