Gomes, Friars whip UM Providence erupts early for sixth win

loading...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior forward Ryan Gomes equaled his season-high with 25 points and Providence College coasted to a 104-74 win over the University of Maine men Tuesday night.

The loss was the worst for the Maine men’s program since a 96-62 setback against DePaul on Dec. 14, 1994.

Providence (6-4), took control early, pulling out to an 18-4 lead on Rob McKiver’s 3-pointer 5:09 into the first half. Maine, which started out shooting 1-for-7 from the field, went nearly five minutes without a basket. Things got worse in the second half as the Friars used a 17-3 run that began just before halftime and continued into the second half to take an insurmountable 30-point lead.

The Friars led 51-32 at halftime.

In the second half, Donnie McGrath’s consecutive 3-pointers 18 seconds apart pushed PC’s lead to 65-35 with 16:04 to play, and the Friars led by at least 19 points the rest of the way.

Maine committed 29 turnovers to Providence’s 16.

Gomes, who scored 25 points for the third time this season, also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out a game-high six assists. McGrath added a season-high 17 points for the Friars.

Ernest Turner led Maine (4-4) with 14 points, and fellow junior guard Kevin Reed had 12. Senior forward Mark Flavin had 11 points, six boards and two blocks while Chris Markwood scored 11 and had six assists.

McGrath’s runner in the lane pushed PC’s lead to 32-11 midway into the half, the first of four occasions when the Friars opened a lead of 20 points or more in the opening half.

The teams combined for 33 free-throw attempts in a foul-filled first half.

The Friars outrebounded Maine 45-39 overall.

FRIARS 104, BLACK BEARS 74

MAINE (4-4) PROVIDENCE (6-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Dubois 1 2 0 0 2 Gomes 9 13 25

Campbell 2 5 2 2 6 Kotti 1 5 5

Turner 6 16 0 0 14 Hill 4 7 9

Reed 3 11 4 4 12 McGrath 5 8 3 17

Markwood 2 6 5 6 11 Brewington 5 16

Bruff 2 2 2 3 6 White 3 5 6

Hight 1 1 0 0 3 McKiver 2 8 7

Flavin 3 6 5 8 11 Brown 4 8 9

Jackson 2 7 1 2 6 Parmer 1 2 2

Ahvenniemi 1 2 1 1 3 McCray 0 1 0

Harknell 0 0 0 0 0 VandeWalle 0 0

Englert 0 0 0 0

Hanke 3 6 2 8

Burch 0 3 0 0

Totals 23 58 20 26 74 37 78 20 34 104

Maine 32 74

Providence 51 104

3-pt. goals – Maine (8-22): Markwood 2-3, Turner 2-5, Reed 2-8, Hight 1-1, Jackson 1-4, Campbell 0-1; Providence (10-23): McGrath 4-6, Brewington 4-6, Gomes 1-3, McKiver 1-3, Brown 0-1, Parmer 0-1, McCray 0-1, Van de Walle 0-1, Burch 0-1

Attendance: 7,849