Georgetown vs. Providence final score: Friars top Hoyas in crucial Big East tilt

With both team’s entering Wednesday night looking to end their losing ways, the Hoyas and Friars exemplified the urgency of a must-win contest. Sure, must-win sounds a little drastic this early in conference play, but ask either fanbase and they’ll tell you, tonight was a must win for their respective sides.

The Dominicans would eventually top the Jesuits by a score of 76-70.

Georgetown’s bigs were set to be a difference maker in tonight’s matchup, as Providence has struggled with opposing big men. Many focused on Jessie Govan and Bradley Hayes, but it was sophomore Marcus Derrickson who would have the biggest impact for the Hoyas, posting 26 points and 6 rebounds. Akoy Agau was very solid for Georgetown as well, finishing with 12 points and 12 boards.

Emmitt Holt was effective underneath as the Friars’ main inside presence and was a key producer for Providence in the second half. Staying out of foul trouble was a necessity, and he did just that, putting up 17 points and five rebounds.

Rodney Pryor entered today’s game as Georgetown’s leading scorer, and acted like it too. Commanding the ball at times, Pryor was 6-18 from the floor finishing with 16 points.

Providence received a much needed effort from leading scorer Rodney Bullock. The forward posted 15 points and nine rebounds while playing stronger on the defensive end than usual. This was alongside a strong showing from PC’s reliable quarterback, Kyron Cartwright, who finished with 15 points. Jalen Lindsey continued his strong play, leading the Friars with 19 points (4-6 from 3FG).

The Friars finished the first half on a 13-2 run, capped off by a Kyron Cartwright runner at the buzzer to give Providence a 30-23 halftime advantage. This lead quickly vanished however as the Hoyas came out of the gates strong to begin the second half, taking the lead right back. From here on out it was a typical, back and forth Big East battle. The Friars pulled out to a seven point lead with just under 3 minutes remaining on an Emmitt Holt dunk. Georgetown was never able to draw even from that point on.

On a very positive note for Friar fans, freshman Alpha Diallo finally showed some flashes of great potential that many have been waiting for. He finished with 7 points in 20 minutes.

It’s extremely clear that Ed Cooley’s team thrives off of their home crowd. The Friars were constantly seen pumping up the loud Dunkin’ Donuts Center fans and fed off of their energy. If only away crowds responded to them in the same manner... PC improves to 10-0 at home and 11-5 overall.

The Hoyas fall to 8-7 and now look towards Butler.