Marquette's slide continues with loss to Providence

By foxsports
Published

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- LaDontae Henton's experience paid off for the Providence Friars on Sunday.

The senior had 25 points and 15 rebounds in a 77-66 win over Marquette.

"He was a possessed man today, and I mean that in a very professional way," Friars coach Ed Cooley said.

"He showed that urgency and willed us, especially when things were getting tight."

Kris Dunn added 16 points and nine assists for the Friars (20-9, 10-6 Big East).

Marquette, which fell to 11-17 and is in last place in conference play at 3-13, was led by Duane Wilson's 22 points and 21 from Matt Carlino.

The Golden Eagles have lost five straight and 11 of their past 12.

"When you're a natural-born scorer, you're going to find ways to score," said Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski about Henton, who was held scoreless for the game's first 10 minutes. "He is a big-time player."

Providence trailed 19-14 before going on an 18-5 run to take a 40-29 lead into halftime. The Friars led by 20 points with under 10 minutes remaining before the Golden Eagles came roaring back to trail 70-63 after Wilson made a 3-pointer with 2:47 left.

Another 3 from Wilson and one by Carlino pulled Marquette to within 71-66 with 1:57 to play. The Friars answered with six straight points, all coming at the free-throw line.

Tip-ins: Depth has been an issue for the Golden Eagles all season and it was magnified Sunday when Luke Fischer and Wilson were forced to sit in the second half after each picked up their fourth foul. Wilson is one of the top newcomers in the Big East while Fisher is an efficient low-post scorer.

Fisher fouled out with 2:22 left and had six points. Juan Anderson provided 10 minutes off the bench despite being slowed by an ankle injury.

"Since Juan has been injured, our ability to rebound has taken a real big hit," Wojciechowski said.

New kid on the block: Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski brought a heavy dose of Atlantic Coast Conference flavor to Marquette upon agreeing with the Golden Eagles last April. He was an assistant/associate head coach at Duke from 1999-2014. As a Blue Devil player, Wojciechowski was a two-time all-conference selection.

Asked in his first year as a head coach on the difference between the Big East and ACC, Wojciechowski said:

"It's an extremely physical league and has great toughness across the board. That hasn't been a big surprise, but it's been a big confirmation of what I thought prior to coming into the league."

Up next: Marquette hosts St. John's on Wednesday.