Providence uses second-half flurry to beat No. 19 Connecticut 81-66

Providence knocks off No. 19 UConn 81-66

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Jamine Peterson had 23 points to go with 14 rebounds, scoring eight of Providence’s 14 straight points as the Friars took the lead and ran away from No. 19 Connecticut to win 81-66 on Wednesday night.

Sharaud Curry scored 18, and Bilal Dixon had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Providence (12-8, 4-4 Big East).

Students stormed the court in the final seconds in the biggest win for the Friars since last year’s defeat of then-No. 1 Pittsburgh.

Kemba Walker and Gavin Edwards each scored 17 for UConn (13-7, 3-4). It was the Huskies’ first loss under substitute coach George Blaney, who took over on Jan. 19 when Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun took a medical leave.

UConn led 58-55 with 9:36 left before the Friars scored the next 14 points, 20 of the next 23 and 26 of 31 until Walker made a meaningless 3-pointer in the final minute.

UConn was ranked as high as 10th in The Associated Press Top 25 before three straight losses dropped it out of the polls. It was just one week, though, before the Huskies beat St. John’s and then-No. 1 Texas to jump back into the rankings at No. 19.

The Friars were coming off a loss to South Florida in which they blew a 12-point lead with 2:05 remaining.

Providence trailed by as many as 10 midway through the first half, and UConn led 29-19 when the Friars scored eight straight points, getting 3-pointers from Duke Mondy and Marshon Brooks and a dunk from Peterson.

Peterson tied it 31-all when he tipped in Mondy’s miss with 3:45 left in the first, but the Friars did not take the lead until Dixon’s layup with 34 seconds left that made it 36-35 at halftime.

PC led 51-44 before Russ Permenter fouled Walker during a 3-point attempt; he made all three foul shots and then a layup next time down to make it a two-point game.