Providence vs. DePaul 2017 final score: Blue Demons pull off a stunner, defeat Friars 64-63

Despite holding an 11-point lead with five minutes to play, the Providence Friars saw that lead be evaporated as DePaul scored their first Big East win of the season, engias they engineered a comeback victory to the tune of 64-63.

For the second consecutive year, the Blue Demons were victorious over the Friars at the Rosemont Horizon. While it did not have the theatrics of last year’s reverse court storming, it certainly still had plenty of drama. Down two points in the final moments of the game, senior guard Billy Garrett Jr. drove to the rack and scored the game-tying bucket, drawing enough contact to earn a trip to the line.

With ice in his veins, Garrett Jr. sunk the go-ahead free throw to put DePaul in front.

A last-second shot from Kyron Cartwright inexplicably couldn’t go in the net despite being put up at point blank range. Providence’s road woes continue on as a result of the loss on Tuesday, as they’ve yet to win a true road game this season and fall to 1-6 in games away from the Dunkin Donuts Center in the 2016-17 season.

Garrett Jr. and Eli Cain were instrumental in DePaul’s comeback efforts on Tuesday night. The tandem scored 16 of the final 20 points that were scored for DePaul in the final 4:29 of the game. By night’s end, the duo combined for 24 of the 64 points scored with Garrett Jr. leading the way with 14 points and a cool 7-for-8 mark from the free throw line. Cain meanwhile was 4-for-4 from the line, an area that helped the Blue Demons in a big way. The team shot 85.7 percent on 21 free throw attempts while Providence shot 81.8 percent on 22.

Brandon Cyrus joined Garrett Jr. and Cain in double figures with 10 points, shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line.

Providence was led by the efforts of Rodney Bullock, Isaiah Jackson and Emmitt Holt. The trio got into double figures as Bullock scored 18 while Holt and Jackson chipped in 13 and 12. Kyron Cartwright scored just five points but notched seven assists on the night.

What we learned

No end in sight for Providence’s road troubles

The Friars look completely shot on the road and this is perhaps the lowest point for the troubles they’ve had away from The Ocean State. Mixed in with their loss with Boston College, Providence has now lost to two sub-150 KenPom teams away from the Dunk which certainly don’t create great optics when glancing at their resume. It’s not going to get any easier for them either with trips to D.C., The Main Line, Milwaukee (Where they’ve never won), New Jersey and Omaha on the way. If they can’t win at the Horizon, where can they win?

Shockingly, when Eli Cain and Billy Garrett Jr. produce, good things happen for DePaul

The kind of hard-hitting analysis you pay for here at BECB! (Wait, we don’t charge subscriptions? Oh... yeah... right)

Anyways, DePaul got contributions from Cain and Garrett Jr. on Tuesday night for the first time in a while. Unsurprisingly, DePaul was able to manufacture a victory and did so in pretty dramatic fashion. They’re the straws that stir the proverbial drink for the Blue Demons and they proved their worth and then some on Tuesday night.

Optimism runs amok at DePaul... if not just for a night

Hey: Soak it up, Blue Demons fans. Really.