PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and 24th-ranked Providence earned its 20th victory of the season, holding on for a 85-72 win over Villanova on Saturday.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley’s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Villanova’s Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds. Justin Moore added 17 points.
Trailing by five at the half, the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9) took their first lead of the game with 17:09 remaining following Cam Whitmore’s steal and dunk to cap a 9-3 spurt.
Providence responded with a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to get its lead back up to 54-44. Villanova missed 9 of 10 shots during the stretch.
Villanova found its shot and got within 63-61 on a layup by Caleb Daniels with 4:53 left.
Providence got a cushion at 70-65, but was in trouble with the shot clock winding down when Devin Carter drained a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Providence took a 36-31 edge into halftime.
The Friars scored 20 points in the paint during the opening 20 minutes and led by as many as 14. But they settled for perimeter shots late in the half and were outscored 13-4 over the final 5:46 before the break.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
After falling four spots following a loss at St. Johns last week, the Friars secured their spot in the poll for this upcoming week, going 2-0 with a double-overtime win over 18th-ranked Creighton.
BIG PICTURE
Villanova: Saturday began a tough five-game stretch to close the regular season, featuring four ranked opponents.
Providence: The Friars avoided what could have been a letdown coming off their win over Creighton.
UP NEXT
Villanova: At No. 16 Xavier on Tuesday.
Providence: At No.20 UConn on Wednesday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
