Providence defeats former coach Ed Cooley, Georgetown

Field Level Media|published: Sat 25th January, 15:17 2025

Jan 25, 2025; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Providence Friars guard Justyn Fernandez (4) shoots over Georgetown Hoyas guard Jayden Epps (10) during the first half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph each scored 14 points and Providence got some revenge against a familiar face with a 78-68 victory over visiting Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.

The Friars (10-10, 4-5 Big East) were playing with some extra pep in their step with Hoyas coach Ed Cooley back in the building. Cooley was at the helm in Providence from 2011-23 before taking over at Georgetown ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

Friars fans showered Cooley with boos and chants and erupted when Corey Floyd Jr. hit a short jumper to give Providence a 68-58 lead with 4:05 left.

A 7-0 run by the Hoyas (13-7, 4-5) got the Providence lead down to 68-65 with 2:30 to go, but Jabri Abdur-Rahim stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer. Georgetown trailed by at least four the rest of the way.

Pierre and Joseph were two of five scorers in double figures for the Friars, joining Abdur-Rahim (12), Floyd (11) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (10). Joseph and Erhunmwunse added six rebounds apiece.

Micah Peavy finished with a career-high 27 points and Thomas Sorber supplied 25, but Georgetown's second unit was nowhere to be found, getting shut out. Providence's bench provided 26 points.

The Friars pulled out the win despite getting outshot 46.7 percent to 45.2 percent from the field.

After letting Providence open up a seven-point lead just over 3 1/2 minutes into the second half, the Hoyas scored eight unanswered points to grab a 45-44 lead with 12:54 remaining.

Christ Essandoko answered with a trey 1:10 later, and the Friars never fell behind again. They extended their lead to 60-52 with the help of a three-point play from Joseph, and Floyd's jumper later capped an 8-2 run.

Georgetown was in control early, getting seven points from Sorber during a 14-4 run that put the Hoyas up 23-11 with 11:04 remaining in the first half.

The rest of the half belonged to the Friars as they scored 27 of the final 37 points to take a 38-33 lead into the break. The Hoyas were hampered by limited first-half production outside of everyone but Sorber and Peavy, who combined for 26 of Georgetown's points ahead of intermission.

--Field Level Media

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