Providence makes crucial shots and sits atop Central Connecticut

Bensley Joseph scored 21 points and Jayden Pierre hit four free throws with 1:10 left in the final to help Providence beat Central Connecticut State 59-55 in Monday’s season opener for both teams.

The Friars emerged victorious despite leading for just 5:04 of game time, shooting 8 of 32 (25 percent) from 3-point range and 37.7 percent overall.

Joseph shot 8 of 14 from the floor and 5 of 10 from distance. The Miami transfer scored 16 of his points in the second half.

No other Providence player scored more than Wesley Cardet Jr. with eight points. He added seven rebounds.

Jordan Jones led Central Connecticut with 21 points, including 15 in the first half.

The Blue Devils shot 31.5 percent from the floor and did not make a 3-point basket (0-8).

Joseph redeemed the brothers late on several occasions. He scored five points in 30 seconds, starting a 7-0 run by knocking down a much-needed three-pointer and a floating layup off Corey Floyd Jr.’s shot block.

The next basket, Oswin Erhunmwunse’s tip-in layup after a Joseph miss, brought Providence even at 38-38 with 11:38 left.

Christ Essandoko and Cardet drew fouls before Essandoko’s dunk gave Providence its first lead of the second half, 47-46, with 6:16 left.

Joseph hit threes in quick succession from the left wing and right corner within the 3:00 mark, making it a 55-53 game.

The Blue Devils tied the game again thanks to free throws from Abdul Momoh (11 points) with 1:35 left, but came away empty-handed on several possessions late in the game. Two fouls on Pierre allowed the veteran point guard to finish the game.

Central capitalized on Providence’s 11 turnovers in the first half and took a 26-24 lead at the break. The guests were ahead by 14:10 minutes and led by up to six points over the entire period.

Erhunmwunse scored the first Friar points 1:39 into the game. Jabri Abdur-Rahim’s 3-pointer at 15:37 gave the hosts their first lead at 7:6, but it never went beyond two points before halftime.

Providence couldn’t hold on to the lead after Cardet’s three-pointer at 10:02 of the first half and had to break a nearly five-minute scoring drought with Joseph’s straight-up three-pointer with 5:05 left.

Jones capped a dominant first half with a layup with 1:07 left.

Preseason All-Big East honoree Bryce Hopkins, who is in the final stages of recovery from a torn ACL, did not play for Providence.

–Field level media