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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Fans of the Providence College Friars rushed the court at the Dunkin' Donuts Center Saturday night after the men's basketball team clinched their first regular-season title in the Big East against the Creighton Bluejays.
The No. 11 seed Friars triumphed with a 72-51 victory over the Bluejays.
Creighton's top scorer was Ryan Kalbrenner, who brought the team forward with 13 points. The Bluejay's Alex O'Connell trailed close behind with 12 total points scored in the game.
"We played an NCAA Tournament team and they caught us on a good day," Providence coach Ed Cooley said to the Associated Press following the win. "There’s a lot of emotion, but I don’t know if there’s a better college basketball environment in the country. Today is the highest of highs with respect with where we’re trying to go.”
In terms of point scoring A.J Reeves brought the heat, sinking seven 3-pointers (with a 70% percentage of 3-pointers Reeves shot scored) in his total 23 points during the game. Other high scorers, Nate Watson and Al Durham, each netted 12 points each.
“To win this championship, it was very emotional,” Watson said to the AP, “All this work finally paid off. I’ve been here for five years. I love being a Friar.”
PC ended their regular season on a high note to an already impressive 2021-2022 season, with 14-2 in the conference and 24-3 in overall games.
Though Taylor Swift did not make an appearance as Friar fans may have wanted (one had even bought local billboard space to invite the celebrity), students had high morale as they stormed the court late Saturday night.
The Friars face off against No. 8 Villanova on Tuesday, March 1.
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