Here’s how Providence basketball found its groove in Bryce Hopkins’ return to action

[ad_1]

PROVIDENCE — Tuesday night was more like it.

Providence left a winless three-game trip to the Bahamas in the tropical sand. The comforts of home – colder, considerably more partisan – suited the Friars perfectly at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

BYU was pretty much helpless after making a token run midway through the second half. The Cougars weren’t about to spoil the return of Bryce Hopkins exactly 11 months after he suffered a major left knee injury against Seton Hall on this same floor.

Providence sizzled from the field in the first half and locked up defensively throughout. This dominant 83-64 victory as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle snapped a three-game losing streak and just might have put the Friars back on the long-term NCAA Tournament radar.

“Good bounceback win for our group after a disappointing trip to Nassau,” Providence coach Kim English said. “We talked about how the response is greater than the result.”

Jabri Abdur-Rahim netted a game-high 21 points off the bench, leading four Providence players in double figures. The Friars shot a blistering 71.4% in the first half and limited BYU to just 33.3% from the field for the game. The Cougars entered fifth nationally in 2-point shooting percentage but staggered to 7-for-25 outside of layup and dunk attempts.

“We felt good coming home, and we knew we had a really good opponent,” Abdur-Rahim said. “You want to bounce back after some tough losses, and I felt we did a good job of that.”

Hopkins was introduced last among the five Providence starters, and the crowd of 12,005 fans on hand gave him a roaring standing ovation. He was off and running once a left-handed layup fell on a drive with 8:06 left in the first half. Hopkins closed with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and was a plus-29 in a shade over 25 minutes.

More: Here’s what Big East coaches think of the Providence men’s basketball team

“It was amazing,” Hopkins said. “Just being able to run back out there and run up and down my…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/heres-providence-basketball-found-groove-124804781.html

Author : The Providence Journal

Publish date : 2024-12-04 12:48:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.