Providence Ends DePaul’s Season

NEW YORK - Sharaud Curry scored 25 points and Providence held DePaul without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes to beat the surprising Blue Demons 83-74 in the second round of the Big East tournament Wednesday.

Will Walker scored 31 points and Dar Tucker had 30 for the first time two teammates scored more than 30 in a Big East tournament game. It was also just the second game in school history with two players scoring 30 or more in a game.

Weyinmi Efejuku scored 23 and Geoff McDermott had eight points and nine rebounds to help eighth-seeded Providence (19-12) give the Friars their first Big East Tournament win since 2003.

The Friars took advantage of the Blue Demons' lack of depth, denying DePaul a field goal for more than 8 minutes in the second half to turn a 62-59 deficit into a 70-62 lead with 3:36 to play.

Walker, who played 40 minutes in each game, matched a career high with his 31 points. But he went almost 13 minutes of the second half without a field goal until he made one of his six 3-pointers with less than 2 minutes to play. Tucker also failed to score for nearly 9 minutes.

Mario Stula was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers for DePaul, which shot 13-for-31 from behind the arc. The Blue Demons (9-24) had defeated Cincinnati for their first conference win of the year in the first round of a tournament expanded to include all 16 teams.

Providence shot 50 percent in the first to half to take a 32-31 lead behind 16 from Curry. DePaul grabbed eight offensive boards in the half but Curry made three 3-pointers down the stretch.

The Blue Demons went up 55-51 with 11:15 left in the game behind two acrobatic drives by Tucker. But the second was the last field goal for the Blue Demons until Walker made his 3 with less than 2 minutes to play. In that span, DePaul made eight of 14 shots from the line.

When DePaul went cold, Weyinmi and Jeff Xavier picked up their play. Xavier made two of his three 3-pointers and Weyinmi scored six points to help make it 72-63.

Game Notes

Providence advances to the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Championship to face top-seeded Louisville.

The Friars snapped a five-game losing streak in BIG EAST tournament games. Prior to today, the last Providence win was a 73-50 win in the first round of the 2003 tournament.

Providence is 16-27 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship. The Friars are 13-16 in their tournament openers.

Providence shot 53.8 percent from the field, including a 57.1-percent effort (16-of-28).

DePaul’s Will Walker scored 31 points, while guard Dar Tucker had 30. It is the first time in BIG EAST tournament history that two players from the same team scored at least 30 points in the same game.

It was the second time in DePaul’s history that two players scored at least 30 points in a game. The first was Feb. 9, 1973, when Greg Boyd had 32 and Bill Robinzine had 30 in an 89-80 win against Villanova.

Walker and Tucker accounted for 61 of DePaul’s 74 points.

Box Score