Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph each scored 13 points to help Providence topple visiting Hampton 60-51 in Tuesday nonconference action in Rhode Island’s capital.
The Friars (3-0) erased a 30-22 halftime deficit with the help of 8-2, 7-0 and 5-0 runs to take a 42-36 lead halfway through the latter period. A 9-0 sequence put the game out of reach late.
Wesley Cardet added 10 points for the Friars, who also got six rebounds from Pierre and five assists from Joseph.
Noah Farrakhan’s 16 points off the bench led Hampton (1-2), which went on a 16-0 run after falling behind 8-0. Fellow reserve Trevor Smith added 11 on three triples.
Cardet and Joseph hit 3-pointers to bookend the Friars’ second-half spurts over 3:53 out of the break. After Tyler Rice’s jumper upped the Hampton lead to 34-30, the hosts’ 7-0 spurt included Corey Floyd’s putback following two offensive boards and a Joseph catch-and-shoot triple.
Ryan Mela’s coast-to-coast layup closed the 6-0 spurt by the halfway mark, only to have Hampton’s Richard Goods and Smith hitting their first threes to tie the game with 9:03 left.
A minute after Richard Barron’s left-corner three, Floyd scored the next two Providence baskets. His running dunk with 5:43 left gave Providence a 49-47 lead it would not relinquish.
Another Cardet three and key free throws by Joseph iced the game.
Providence was only 10-of-20 at the foul line, but four of its makes came in the final 40 seconds.
In the first half, Pierre’s 3-pointers on each side of Oswin Erhunmwunse’s dunk spurred the opening run in 5:47.
Rice’s mid-range jumper at 13:50 not only broke Hampton’s scoring drought but also spurred a 16-0 run over seven-plus minutes. Six of Providence’s nine first-half turnovers came during that span.
Farrakhan was at the center of the turnaround with nine of the last 14 points in that span, including three free throws on one trip and a free-throw line jumper at 7:01.
Barron hit the first of three 3-pointers in 2:09 to close within 20-17 before a 10-5 Pirates run ended the period. Benefitting from a Barron flagrant foul, Xzavier Long drained two free throws and a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
