Box Score PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A 16-3 surge in the latter stages of the first half helped lift Providence to a 58-54 victory over No. 12/12 Villanova before 15,516 Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wildcats (22-7 overall, 11-5 BIG EAST) fought their way back to 48-46 in the final minutes but the Friars held their ground to post the win.
 
Providence limited Villanova to 5-of-30 shooting from beyond the arc (.167) in improving to 17-12 overall, 10-6 BIG EAST). Luwane Pipkins scored 27 points for the Friars to lead all scorers.
 
Junior Collin Gillespie played through a deep thigh bruise to score 13 points for the Wildcats. Freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl posted his ninth double-double of 2019-20 with 10 points and 11 caroms in 30:38. Saddiq Bey finished with 11 points before fouling out in the second half.
 
"That was a tough Big East battle," stated head coach Jay Wright. "It's been like that every night. We just didn't perform well enough in this one and they did. They were really tough defensively and on the glass. We didn't have an answer for Pipkins – couldn't guard him.
 
"They were great defensively. We really struggled scoring against their length. When they were in man-to-man they kept switching. When they were in zone, they just matched up with all of our guys. It was a great job."
 
Providence moved out to a 10-1 lead over the first 5:21 of the period. The Wildcats did not record their first field until a basket by Gillespie with 13:57 to play in the first half and found themselves down 12-3.
 
Villanova's strong defense helped light a fuse under its offense. Four turnovers helped fuel a 7-0 burst that was capped by a 3-pointer from Bey that gave the Wildcats their first lead of the day, 15-14, with 8:04 on the first half clock.
 
Both Robinson-Earl and Saddiq Bey were assessed their second personal fouls soon thereafter and the absence of the two starters was felt in that pivotal stretch of the first half. The Friars scored the next five points and held a 20-15 lead after a Pipkins 3-pointer. At that point the Friars were 3-of-5 from distance (.600) while Villanova was 1-of-11 (.009).
 
The Friars then reeled off a 10-3 spurt over the final 2:58 of the period to extend the advantage to 30-18 at halftime. The Friars got nine points from Maliek White and kept Nova in check at the offensive end, limiting the Wildcats to their lowest point total in a half all season. (The prior low were the 22 points scored in the first half at Ohio State on Nov. 13).
 
Villanova was 7-of-26 from the field (. 269), 2-of-14 from beyond the arc (.143), and 2-of-9 at the free throw line (.222).
 
The Wildcats shaved their deficit to 34-27 early in the second half but another 3-pointer by Pipkins helped Providence re-establish a double-digit lead at 39-29 with 13:27 to play in the second half. On a subsequent possession Bey picked up his fourth foul. After a pair of Friars' free throws, the count was 41-29.  
Despite the exit of Bey, who picked up his fifth personal with 6:41 remaining, the Wildcats scrapped their way back into it. Robinson-Earl drained a 3-pointer to help Nova close the gap to 46-44 with 3:51 left. Yet Pipkins scored on Providence's next possession to make it 50-46. Robinson-Earl scored again to shave the deficit to 50-48 before Pipkins answered yet again with a bucket to make it 52-48.
 
"We had our chances," noted Wright. "We had the ball down four and turned it over. We had another opportunity right after that and threw the ball away. We had our chances. You've got to give credit to Providence. They were tougher and made more intelligent plays down the stretch."
 
Villanova has two regular season games remaining. The first of those comes Wednesday night when the Wildcats travel to Newark, N.J. to meet Seton Hall at the Prudential Center (8:30 p.m./FS1 and 610 ESPN Radio).
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.