LATE WEDNESDAY: Providence falls to Seton Hall
Friars lose Bryce Hopkins for season after he sustains ACL injury in second half
PROVIDENCE — The scoreboard on this particular night told a less important story.
A loss in one game can be redeemed. But the loss of star Bryce Hopkins is far more difficult to overcome.
The Friars fell to Seton Hall and watched a potential Big East Player of the Year contender depart with a left knee injury early in the second half. It made for a cruel double blow at Amica Mutual Pavilion, as the Pirates spoiled what was supposed to be a first celebration of a ranked team.
Dylan Addae-Wusu’s pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds left iced it. Seton Hall held off No. 23 Providence, 6157, in a game Hopkins exited with 14:59 to play.
After the game, Providence coach Kim English said the team was “praying for good news” on Thursday, but the news was anything but. Hopkins suffered a torn ACL and is done for the season, the school would confirm.
The Friars faced a 37-31 deficit and still found a way to rally mentally in a second half that featured two ties and six lead changes. Josh Oduro missed a short left-handed shot from the left block inside the final 10 seconds and Addae-Wusu cleared the defensive glass.
“That’s a shot that I work on,” Oduro said. “That’s a shot that I wanted to take. And I missed it — that was 100% on me.”
Providence fell behind for good when Al-Amir Dawes knocked down a pair of free throws with 4:40 left and followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing. That gave Seton Hall a 55-51 advantage, and the Friars never pulled even the rest of the way.
Kadary Richmond’s missed front end of a 1-and-1 chance at the line and a Dawes turnover with 14.3 seconds left opened the door, but Providence couldn’t escape as it had last time out against Butler in overtime.
“Disappointing outcome for our group,” English said. “Disappointing game. We just didn’t play well. Didn’t play well in a lot of areas, and Seton Hall had a lot to do with it.”
Oduro connected on his first six shots from the field before making only three of his last 15.
The Pirates switched to a 2-3 zone look midway through the opening half and frustrated the Friars the rest of the way with their defensive grit. Providence closed at just 37% from the field, 4-for-17 from 3-point range and committed 14 turnovers.
“They just had a good game plan, I feel like,” Carter said. “We just weren’t hitting shots. We had some open looks. They mixed up the defenses that they ran and they ended up making more shots than us.”
The Friars (11-3, 2-1 Big East) were cruising early. Oduro hit a pair of free throws with 11:51 left in the opening half to make it a 19-10 lead. Providence was on a 17-2 run and looked headed for a 47th win in this building in its last 50 tries.
Seton Hall (9-5, 2-1) deployed its wrinkle and held the Friars to a lone field goal in the last 8:37 before halftime. Dre Davis converted a putback into a threepoint play and Richmond’s jumper capped a 12-0 run. Addae-Wusu beat the buzzer into the break with a 3-pointer from the left corner and the Pirates moved out to a 29-24 advantage.
“They saw some holes,” English said. “They attacked them. They made some shots.”
Oduro closed with a game-high 23 points and was joined in double digits only by Carter, who was limited to 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Fellow starters Ticket Gaines and Jayden Pierre added a combined nine points on just 2for-7 from the floor. Corey Floyd Jr. offered some energy among the reserves in the second half, closing with seven points and six rebounds.
“We always play for our brothers, especially when one goes down,” Oduro said. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to be better individually, and we will be. We’ll work on it.”
Davis led four Seton Hall players in double figures with 17 points while Richmond racked up 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Dawes hit for 10 of his 12 points in the second half while Addae-Wusu posted a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Pirates spoiled the regular season finale here last season in an 82-58 stunner and grinded out another victory in this return trip.
“It was exactly the type of game that we knew it would be — gritty, tough, physical,” English said. “And at the end of the day, it just came down to making plays — individual and team plays.” bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25