The Providence College men's basketball team defeated the No. 11 Creighton Bluejays, 74-70, on Wednesday, Jan. 20 in Omaha, Neb. With the win, the Friars advance to 8-6 overall and 4-4 in BIG EAST play. Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) finished with a career-high 29 points in the game.

"You have to continue to drive hope and inspiration into your guys," Head Coach Ed Cooley said. "When you have players like Nate and David on the floor, you are going to give yourself an opportunity night in and night out."

At 19:44, Watson got in the scoring column first for the Friars. Jimmy Nichols, Jr. (Conway, S.C.) knocked down the first basket from three-point territory at the 18:08 mark giving the Friars a 7-0 lead. Meanwhile, Creighton struggled from the field to start the game. 

With 15:37 remaining in the first half, freshman Alyn Breed (Powder Springs, Ga.) grabbed a defensive rebound and assisted on a fastbreak dunk by A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.). The Friars held their first double-digit advantage, 13-2, at the first media timeout.

Providence continued to have success on both ends of the floor. Entering the 11:50 media timeout, the Friars had made four of their last five attempts and led by 16, at 22-6. Creighton had missed each of their last 10 attempts and had not scored in nearly three minutes. 

At the 7:45 mark, Creighton's Damien Jefferson made a three-point basket. The Friars responded on the ensuing possession with a three from David Duke (Providence, R.I.). The Friars held control, 28-17. 

By the final media timeout of the first half, Creighton had narrowed the gap. The Friars were on a five-minute scoring drought. Watson ended the drought with a layup with 2:17 left. The teams traded several scores in the closing minutes of the half.  

 Providence led at halftime, 39-34. Providence shot 13-28 (46.4%) from the field, 3-11 (27.3%) from three, and 10-14 (71.4%) from the free throw line. Creighton shot 11-28 (39.3%) from the field, 3-14 (21.4%) from three, and 9-13 (69.2%) from the free throw line. The Friars did not surrender the lead in the first half. 

At 19:17, Breed scored the opening points of the second half for the Friars from the free throw line. With 16:25 left, the Friars increased their lead with a second-chance basket in the paint by Watson. By the first media timeout of the half, Providence led 48-39.

Ahead of the next timeout, Greg Gantt (Fayetteville, N.C.) converted a fastbreak dunk for his first basket of the game. Reeves assisted on the play. With 12:07 remaining in the game, the Friars were back to a double-digit lead, 54-43. 

The Friars were cold from the field with 8:00 to play, missing six of their last seven shots. Coming out of the 7:38 timeout, the Bluejays continued an 11-2 scoring run. Creighton had cut the deficit to four points. Providence led 56-54. 

Entering the last stretch of regulation, it was a back-and-forth game. Breed extended the Friars lead to six points shortly before the final media timeout. The Friars were ahead, 65-59.

With 0:56 left, a layup by Creighton's Mitch Ballock made it a two-point game. Duke responded by banking in a three-pointer from the left wing with 0:28 remaining in the game. Watson added two free throws, and the Friars held control, 72-65. 

At the 0:05 mark, Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski knocked down a contested three-pointer to bring the score to 72-70. Duke added two more from the free throw line to close the game. 

Providence finished 25-56 (44.6%) from the field, 5-18 (27.8%) from three, and 19-26 (73.1%) from the free throw line. Creighton finished 25-58 (43.1%) from the field, 4-23 (17.4%) from three, and 16-24 (66.7%) from the free throw line. Damien Jefferson and Marcus Zegarowski led the way for the Bluejays, with 26 and 17 points, respectively. 

The Friars had four players in double-figures, in Watson, Breed (15 points), Duke (12 points), and Nichols (10 points). Duke finished with a game-high five assists. Reeves pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. The Friars never trailed in the game, as well as out-rebounded the Bluejays by eight. 

"My teammates and coaches are always on me, especially in practice," Breed said. "They always give me the confidence to play hard and play my game." 

Up next, Providence will play the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats on Saturday, January 23 in Villanova, Pa. The game is set for tip-off at 2:30 p.m. on FOX.