National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Providence 65, Creighton 58
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 15, 2014
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # Jeff Clark, # Pat Driscoll, # Mike Roberts
Attendance: 15290
By SportsDirect Inc.

Providence 65, No. 14 Creighton 58: Bryce Cotton scored 23 points and LaDontae Henton came up big down the stretch as the Friars upset the Bluejays at New York City's Madison Square Garden to win their first Big East tournament title in 20 years.

Providence, an original member of the Big East, had only made the tournament championship game once before - in 1994 - but prevailed for the second time thanks to a terrific defensive effort against a Creighton team that entered averaging 80.2 points on 50.1 percent shooting. The Bluejays shot only 42.9 percent in this one - 8-of-30 from 3-point range - and senior star Doug McDermott was limited to 27 points after torching the Friars for a career-high 45 points one week earlier.

McDermott made two 3s in the final three minutes to keep things interesting and shot 10-of-19, including 5-of-12 from behind the arc for the second-seeded Bluejays (26-7). Josh Fortune and Tyler Harris each added 10 points and Henton posted nine points and 13 rebounds for fourth-seeded Providence (23-11), which became the first team all season to hold Creighton below 60 points.

Cotton made two foul shots to put the Friars ahead 56-50 with 2:47 to go, but McDermott knocked down a 3-pointer on two of the Bluejays' next three possessions to make it 58-56 with 1:20 remaining. Henton answered with a deep jumper with 45 seconds to go and after McDermott missed a 3 on the other end, Henton knocked down a pair of foul shots with 29 seconds left, providing enough cushion for Providence to hang on.

The Bluejays were 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half and managed only 17 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Friars led by nine at the break and surged ahead 47-35 on Cotton's jumper with 12 minutes to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Creighton F Ethan Wragge was just 1-of-7 from 3-point range, dropping him to 4-of-19 against Providence this season. ... G Avery Dingman chipped in 10 points off the bench for the Bluejays, making all five of his shots. ... The Bluejays only led for 35 seconds in this one after never trailing in victories over DePaul on Thursday and Xavier on Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Providence   Creighton
Bryce Cotton 23 Scoring Doug McDermott 27
LaDontae Henton 3 Assists Austin Chatman 8
LaDontae Henton 13 Rebounds Doug McDermott 5
Tyler Harris 6 Free Throws Made Devin Brooks 4
Carson Desrosiers 2 Steals Will Artino 1
Tyler Harris 1 Blocks Will Artino 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Providence 65 38.8 4-15 23-26 8 29 1 5 6
Creighton 58 42.9 8-30 8-10 14 24 2 3 8