Devin Carter scores 29, Providence beats ex-coach Cooley and Hoyas 84-76
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Ed Cooley helped build the frothing Friars fanbase, so he was prepared for the Providence crowd to aim its fury at him.
“They are like that every game,” the former Providence coach said on Saturday after PC, egged on by a rabid and often vulgar crowd, rallied in the final two minutes to beat Cooley and the Georgetown Hoyas 84-76.
“One of the hardest places in America to play, in this building. Trust me, I know,” Cooley said.
Devin Carter scored 11 of his 29 points in the last two minutes - including seven straight - as Providence came from behind to seal the hostile welcome back for its former coach.
Cooley was cursed and mocked from his first arrival on the court. But it wasn’t until Carter’s game-clinching scoring spurt that the Friars (14-6, 5-4 Big East) were able to finish the job.
“Let’s just talk about the elephant in the room," Cooley, a Providence native who coached the Friars for 12 seasons before angering his hometown by defecting to Georgetown told reporters afterward.
“I couldn’t be more grateful, and thankful, to walk into this building and see how fresh and how thirsty and how great this place is. There’s no better college basketball atmosphere than right here," he said.
Georgetown (8-12, 1-8) led 69-66 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Ismael Massoud and Jaden Epps before Josh Oduro scored for Providence to make it a one-point game. Carter hit a 3-pointer to give the Friars the lead, then stole the ball from Jay Heath and went in for the layup.
Heath wrapped him up and was called for a flagrant foul, giving Providence two free throws and the ball. Carter hit both foul shots, then Oduro hit a pair of free throws on the resulting possession to make it an eight-point game.
Oduro scored 22 for the Friars, who won their third game in a row. Epps scored 26 for Georgetown.
“There was a bit of extracurriculars around the game, leading up to it. But the focus for our guys was on the court,” Providence coach Kim English said. “I don’t know why I was so crazy for a 4-4 versus 1-7 Big East team. Maybe there was something that was going on. It was electric. ... You can never understate how important home court is.”
Cooley left Providence last year to take over in Georgetown when basketball Hall of Famer and former Hoya Patrick Ewing was fired. Providence fans didn’t take that too well and they reminded Cooley of it on Saturday.
A throng of cameras awaited Cooley’s pregame arrival on the court. While the Friars were greeted with applause, their ex-coach was lustily booed and serenaded with vulgar chants up through the first few bars of the national anthem.
But the coach took the high road, finding friends in the crowd and making the rounds to shake hands and hug those who were offering encouragement. A Providence police officer trailed a few steps behind.
Cooley then retreated to the Georgetown bench, under the banner for the 2014 Big East Tournament championship and the 2022 conference regular season championship he helped the Friars win before defecting to Washington, D.C.
Providence went 242-153 under Cooley, making seven trips to the NCAA tournament in 12 years, reaching the Sweet 16 and finishing 13th in The Associated Press Top 25 in 2022.
Instead, the Hoyas focused on the game, putting a scare into the Friars, who were favored by 11.5 points heading into the tipoff.
“I was happy to see Devin. I was hoping he’d miss a bunch of shots," Cooley said. “A little bit of me was pissed at him. But a lot of me was happy with his success. You don’t just recruit kids and forget about them.”
Providence led by as many as nine points in the first half and 12 midway though the second. But the Hoyas scored 14 of the next 16 points to tie it, getting a 3-pointer from Heath and Rowan Brumbaugh’s driving layup that made it 58-all with seven minutes left.
Georgetown will try to end its five-game losing streak when it hosts No. 14 Marquette on Feb. 3
Winners of three straight after losing four-in-a-row, Providence host No. 1 UConn on Wednesday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Supreme Cook vs. Josh Oduro (Hoyas gains possession) | |||
19:46 | Dontrez Styles misses two point jump shot | |||
19:44 | Wayne Bristol Jr. offensive rebound | |||
19:34 | +2 | Jayden Epps makes two point jump shot | 2-0 | |
19:12 | Jay Heath personal foul | |||
19:00 | +3 | Devin Carter makes three point jump shot (Jayden Pierre assists) | 2-3 | |
18:35 | Josh Oduro blocks Jayden Epps's two point layup | |||
18:34 | Hoyas offensive rebound | |||
18:32 | Jay Heath misses two point jump shot | |||
18:30 | Dontrez Styles offensive rebound | |||
18:24 | Dontrez Styles misses two point jump shot | |||
18:21 | Friars defensive rebound | |||
17:59 | Supreme Cook shooting foul (Josh Oduro draws the foul) | |||
17:59 | +1 | Josh Oduro makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 2-4 | |
17:59 | Josh Oduro misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
17:59 | Supreme Cook defensive rebound | |||
17:58 | Corey Floyd Jr. personal foul | |||
17:33 | +2 | Jayden Epps makes two point jump shot | 4-4 | |
17:18 | +2 | Josh Oduro makes two point layup (Ticket Gaines assists) | 4-6 | |
17:18 | Dontrez Styles shooting foul (Josh Oduro draws the foul) | |||
17:18 | +1 | Josh Oduro makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 4-7 | |
17:07 | Ticket Gaines personal foul | |||
17:00 | +2 | Supreme Cook makes two point hook shot | 6-7 | |
16:49 | Devin Carter turnover (bad pass) | |||
16:38 | Jayden Pierre personal foul | |||
16:32 | Jayden Pierre shooting foul (Jayden Epps draws the foul) | |||
16:32 | +1 | Jayden Epps makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 7-7 | |
16:32 | +1 | Jayden Epps makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 8-7 | |
16:32 | +1 | Jayden Epps makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 9-7 | |
16:05 | Jayden Pierre misses three point jump shot | |||
16:03 | Supreme Cook defensive rebound | |||
15:54 | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | |||
15:52 | Ismael Massoud offensive rebound | |||
15:45 | Dontrez Styles misses three point jump shot | |||
15:43 | Josh Oduro defensive rebound | |||
15:39 | Jay Heath shooting foul (Devin Carter draws the foul) | |||
15:39 | TV timeout | |||
15:39 | Devin Carter misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
15:39 | Devin Carter misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
15:39 | Dontrez Styles defensive rebound | |||
15:25 | Supreme Cook turnover (lost ball) (Josh Oduro steals) | |||
14:59 | +2 | Josh Oduro makes two point layup (Ticket Gaines assists) | 9-9 | |
14:41 | Supreme Cook misses two point jump shot | |||
14:39 | Ticket Gaines defensive rebound | |||
14:39 | Dontrez Styles personal foul | |||
14:16 | Ticket Gaines misses three point jump shot | |||
14:14 | Jayden Epps defensive rebound | |||
14:08 | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | |||
14:06 | Ismael Massoud offensive rebound | |||
14:04 | Ticket Gaines blocks Dontrez Styles's two point jump shot | |||
14:02 | Ismael Massoud offensive rebound | |||
13:55 | +3 | Ismael Massoud makes three point jump shot | 12-9 | |
13:46 | Devin Carter misses three point jump shot | |||
13:44 | Dontrez Styles defensive rebound | |||
13:28 | Josh Oduro personal foul | |||
13:26 | Jayden Epps turnover (bad pass) (Devin Carter steals) | |||
13:16 | Garwey Dual misses three point jump shot | |||
13:14 | Supreme Cook defensive rebound | |||
12:55 | Jayden Epps turnover (bad pass) (Josh Oduro steals) | |||
12:38 | Ticket Gaines turnover (bad pass) | |||
12:14 | Jayden Epps misses two point jump shot | |||
12:12 | Josh Oduro defensive rebound | |||
12:06 | +3 | Ticket Gaines makes three point jump shot (Garwey Dual assists) | 12-12 | |
11:52 | +2 | Supreme Cook makes two point layup (Jayden Epps assists) | 14-12 | |
11:31 | TV timeout | |||
11:23 | Ismael Massoud shooting foul (Jayden Pierre draws the foul) | |||
11:23 | +1 | Jayden Pierre makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-13 | |
11:23 | +1 | Jayden Pierre makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-14 | |
11:11 | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | |||
11:09 | Corey Floyd Jr. defensive rebound | |||
11:03 | +2 | Devin Carter makes two point dunk (Corey Floyd Jr. assists) | 14-16 | |
10:54 | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | |||
10:52 | Garwey Dual defensive rebound | |||
10:49 | Rowan Brumbaugh personal foul (Devin Carter draws the foul) | |||
10:49 | +1 | Devin Carter makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-17 | |
10:49 | +1 | Devin Carter makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-18 | |
10:27 | +2 | Supreme Cook makes two point dunk (Jay Heath assists) | 16-18 | |
10:27 | Garwey Dual shooting foul (Supreme Cook draws the foul) | |||
10:27 | +1 | Supreme Cook makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 17-18 | |
10:01 | +2 | Devin Carter makes two point dunk (Corey Floyd Jr. assists) | 17-20 | |
9:43 | +2 | Jayden Epps makes two point layup | 19-20 | |
9:11 | Jayden Pierre misses two point jump shot | |||
9:09 | Jayden Epps defensive rebound | |||
9:04 | +3 | Dontrez Styles makes three point jump shot (Jay Heath assists) | 22-20 | |
8:37 | +2 | Ticket Gaines makes two point layup (Devin Carter assists) | 22-22 | |
8:16 | Jayden Epps misses two point layup | |||
8:14 | Corey Floyd Jr. defensive rebound | |||
8:07 | +2 | Devin Carter makes two point dunk (Jayden Pierre assists) | 22-24 | |
8:00 | Wayne Bristol Jr. misses two point jump shot | |||
7:58 | Devin Carter defensive rebound | |||
7:52 | Devin Carter misses three point jump shot | |||
7:50 | Hoyas defensive rebound | |||
7:47 | TV timeout | |||
7:31 | Ismael Massoud misses three point jump shot | |||
7:30 | Friars defensive rebound | |||
7:15 | +2 | Josh Oduro makes two point layup | 22-26 | |
6:48 | Supreme Cook misses two point jump shot | |||
6:47 | Ticket Gaines defensive rebound | |||
6:47 | Dontrez Styles personal foul | |||
6:47 | +1 | Ticket Gaines makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-27 | |
6:47 | +1 | Ticket Gaines makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-28 | |
6:29 | Jay Heath turnover (bad pass) (Devin Carter steals) | |||
6:23 | +2 | Josh Oduro makes two point layup (Devin Carter assists) | 22-30 | |
6:22 | Hoyas 30 second timeout | |||
6:11 | Jay Heath turnover (bad pass) | |||
6:02 | Supreme Cook personal foul (Josh Oduro draws the foul) | |||
6:02 | Ticket Gaines turnover (lane violation) | |||
5:53 | Jayden Epps offensive foul | |||
5:53 | Jayden Epps turnover (offensive foul) | |||
5:40 | Rafael Castro misses two point layup | |||
5:38 | Jayden Epps defensive rebound | |||
5:30 | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | |||
5:28 | Supreme Cook offensive rebound | |||
5:24 | Supreme Cook misses two point jump shot | |||
5:22 | Hoyas offensive rebound | |||
5:16 | Jayden Epps misses two point jump shot | |||
5:14 | Friars defensive rebound | |||
4:48 | Garwey Dual misses three point jump shot | |||
4:46 | Jayden Epps defensive rebound | |||
4:35 | Rafael Castro blocks Ismael Massoud's two point layup | |||
4:33 | Hoyas offensive rebound | |||
4:33 | Garwey Dual personal foul (Rowan Brumbaugh draws the foul) | |||
4:33 | +1 | Rowan Brumbaugh makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 23-30 | |
4:33 | +1 | Rowan Brumbaugh makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-30 | |
4:06 | +3 | Rich Barron makes three point jump shot (Garwey Dual assists) | 24-33 | |
3:38 | +2 | Drew Fielder makes two point hook shot | 26-33 | |
3:15 | Garwey Dual turnover (bad pass) (Jayden Epps steals) | |||
3:10 | +2 | Jayden Epps makes two point layup | 28-33 | |
2:47 | Ticket Gaines turnover (lost ball) (Rowan Brumbaugh steals) | |||
2:27 | TV timeout | |||
2:12 | Drew Fielder turnover (lost ball) (Rich Barron steals) | |||
2:10 | Rich Barron turnover (lost ball) (Drew Fielder steals) | |||
2:00 | +2 | Wayne Bristol Jr. makes two point layup | 30-33 | |
1:35 | +2 | Josh Oduro makes two point layup | 30-35 | |
1:21 | Devin Carter blocks Jayden Epps's two point layup | |||
1:19 | Wayne Bristol Jr. offensive rebound | |||
1:13 | +3 | Ismael Massoud makes three point jump shot (Wayne Bristol Jr. assists) | 33-35 | |
0:51 | +2 | Josh Oduro makes two point hook shot | 33-37 | |
0:29 | Ismael Massoud misses three point jump shot | |||
0:27 | Devin Carter defensive rebound | |||
0:01 | Corey Floyd Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
0:01 | Josh Oduro offensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |