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NJIT vs. Providence final score: Dunn's near quadruple double helps Friars remain unbeaten

A stellar night for the superstar from Providence College.

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Kris Dunn nearly picked up a quadruple-double en route to Providence's fourth win of the 2015-16 season.

The Friars remain unbeaten thanks to their superstar point guard's 22-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist and seven-steal effort against the NJIT Highlanders as PC picked up the victory to the tune of 83-75.

Dunn's 22 was a game high and had he pulled off the elusive quadruple-double, he would have joined UT-Martin's Lester Hudson as the only Division 1 college basketball players to ever record the feat.

Dunn was joined in double figures by Ben Bentil, Rodney Bullock and Jalen Lindsey who scored 21, 16 and 12 against the Highlanders. As a whole, the Friars did not have their shot, making only 41.5 percent of their attempts and 20.0 percent of their 3-point attempts.

Here's what we learned from this matchup.

1. Free throw shooting was the difference.

As told, the Friars were inefficient from the field at their home venue Monday night. What aided PC to victory was nearly impeccable free throw shooting. Providence made 25 of the 30 free throw attempts they had versus the Highlanders. NJIT wasn't too far behind, converting on 21-of-27, but those extra buckets provided the difference in the margin of victory department with seven points separating the squads.

2. The Friars got away with a poor 3-point shooting night.

Uncharacteristically, PC was poor from the perimeter on Monday. Going into the night PC had an average mark 33.3 percent from the field, with a relatively average 3-point rate as well of 35.5. Against NJIT, their 3-point rate was just 30.8 percent, and they shot 20 percent from that particular area of the floor. This did not burn them despite NJIT converting on 42.9 percent of their 3-point opportunities, over double the mark that PC finished with. NJIT played rather sloppily elsewhere, committing 22 turnovers to PC's nine, which is likely the biggest benefactor of the night. The fact is though: Providence will have to hope performances like these are the anomaly.

3. Providence can dominate in the paint.

On the flip side, PC was almost unstoppable in the paint. 42 of their 83 points - a shade under half - were scored in the paint against NJIT Monday night. The Highlanders couldn't keep up, scoring only 22 of their 76 points inside the paint. Nights like these, conversely, can be a huge positive. If you're able to dominate the area of the floor, it can become easier to stretch and create opportunities outside. It wasn't working for them on this night. But in the future? Perhaps they will fall on the other side of the coin.