Jacob Bannarbie propels Providence to season-opening rout of Maine

Jacob Bannarbie scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, leading Providence to a season-opening 83-56 victory over visiting Maine on Monday night.

Ryan Mela added 13 points and six rebounds for the Friars, who led by eight points at halftime and took control by scoring the first 13 points in the second half.

Malik Mack and Javon Bardwell each finished with 12 points for the Friars, who received a 10-point performance from Miles Byrd. Providence outscored the Black Bears 49-30 over the final 20 minutes.

The Friars scored 29 points off 23 Maine turnovers and had a 21-3 edge in fastbreak points.

Maine, a member of the America East Conference, received 13 points from Hudson Franz, 11 from Ayden Evans and 10 from Killian Gribben. Maine shot 15 of 43 (34.9%) from the field, including 8 of 23 (34.8%) on 3-point attempts, while the Friars ended up 31 of 68 (45.6%) and 10 of 30 (33.3%), respectively.

Providence had a 42-10 advantage in points in the paint.

Maine was within 18-15 midway through the first half, but a 13-3 spurt gave Providence its largest lead of the half. The Friars led 34-26 at halftime.

It was a poor shooting half for both teams before the break. Maine hit 8 of 25 from the field (32%) and Providence made 13 of 33 shots from the floor (39.4%).

Byrd led all scorers with eight points in the first 20 minutes. He also had five rebounds.

A Mack layup capped Providence's 13-0 run at the start of the second half and handed the Friars a 47-26 lead with 16:18 to play. Maine didn't score in the second half until Gribben made a 3-pointer with 16:01 left.

It was 69-41 after Elijah Saunders sank a 3-pointer with 8:28 left, and a Bardwell dunk ended a 10-0 run that put the Friars up 79-46 with 4:18 to play.

--Field Level Media