Devin Carter poured in a team-leading 22 points to go with 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks as Providence rallied past Xavier 79-75 on Wednesday in Cincinnati.
Jayden Pierre added 17 points and five assists for the Friars (18-9, 9-7 Big East), who earned a critical road conference victory. Corey Floyd Jr. contributed 11 points and Rich Barron had 10 as Providence won its third game in a row.
Xavier (13-13, 7-8) was paced by 22 points from Desmond Claude and 19 from Quincy Olivari. The Musketeers took their third straight loss despite getting 16 points and six assists from Dayvion McKnight plus 13 points and 13 rebounds from Abou Ousmane.
Xavier moved ahead 61-54 on a Claude jumper with 11:22 remaining. But Providence scored six straight points to spark a 23-8 spurt that saw the Friars take a 77-69 lead on a Carter layup with 3:02 remaining.
While Providence was making its run, Xavier went ice cold, missing 14 of 15 shots from the floor.
Claude's spinning floater into the lane with 24.4 seconds left cut Providence's lead to 77-75.
Carter was then whistled for an over-and-back violation against heavy Xavier pressure with 16.4 seconds remaining, giving the Musketeers one final chance. However, the Friars' Ticket Gaines blocked a layup attempt by Claude with six seconds left.
Gaines was subsequently fouled and made two free throws to ice the win.
Carter, the scoring leader in the Big East at 19.2 points per game, struggled at the start. He missed his first seven shots while Josh Oduro also could not find an offensive rhythm in the first half.
Carter and Oduro combined to score 100 of Providence's 156 points in wins over DePaul and St. John's last week.
The two still managed to score 17 of Providence's 33 first-half points on Wednesday.
The first half was up and down for both teams. Xavier raced out to a 28-19 lead. The Friars answered with a 12-1 run before Xavier answered with the next nine points for a 38-31 lead on their way to a 38-33 halftime edge.
The Musketeers knocked down their first five shots of the second half and eight of their first 10. But Providence, behind Carter and Oduro, stayed within range.
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