Noah Locke made seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points, Bryce Hopkins had 20 with 11 rebounds and No. 22 Providence avoided a third straight loss with Saturday’s 75-64 Big East win over visiting DePaul.
Playing for his third school, Locke went 11 of 17 from the field and 7 of 12 from beyond the arc for the Friars (15-5, 7-2 Big East), who matched a season high with 10 3-pointers on 23 attempts to win their 13th straight at home. Hopkins quietly enjoyed a strong game for Providence, which shot 45.9 percent to rebound after losing at Creighton and No. 20 Marquette by a combined 14 points.
Umoja Gibson had 16 points and De’Sean Nelson added 13 for DePaul (9-11, 3-6), which shot 44.3 percent and proved pesky in falling short after beating No. 8 Xavier earlier this week. The Blue Demons have lost six straight on the road.
The Friars led by seven at halftime, but DePaul wouldn’t go away. The visitors got it to a four-point game for most of the first 10 minutes of the final half.
The Blue Demons trailed 53-50, but Locke knocked down a 3 with 9:34 remaining in regulation.
After DePaul got within 58-54, Locke hit another 3 and Hopkins muscled his way to a basket to put the Friars up nine with a little more than seven minutes to play.
Locke matched his personal best with his seventh 3 that gave Providence a 10-point lead with 5:10 remaining.
Providence took control early on a 12-0 run with two 3s each from Locke and Carter. Trailing 14-2, DePaul scored the next nine, then got within 16-14 on Gibson’s 3 that ultimately capped its 12-2 spurt.
A Javan Johnson bucket got the Blue Demons within one at 25-24 with just over four minutes to play in the first half. But the Friars got hot from beyond the arc again with 3s by Hopkins and Locke to highlight an 8-0 run. Caleb Murphy (nine points) scored DePaul’s final six points of the opening half to trail 37-30 at the break.
–Field Level Media
