Bensley Joseph scored 21 points and Jayden Pierre knocked down four clutch free throws in the final 1:10 to help Providence edge visiting Central Connecticut State 59-55 in Monday’s season opener for both teams.
The Friars emerged victorious despite leading for only 5:04 of game time while shooting 8 of 32 (25 percent) from 3-point range and 37.7 percent overall.
Joseph shot 8 of 14 from the floor and 5 of 10 from long distance. The Miami transfer scored 16 of his points in the second half.
No other Providence player totaled more than Wesley Cardet Jr.’s eight points. He added seven rebounds.
Jordan Jones led Central Connecticut with 21 points, including 15 in the first half.
The Blue Devils shot 31.5 percent from the floor and did not make a 3-point basket (0-for-8).
Joseph sparked the Friars on several occasions late. He scored five points in 30 seconds to begin a 7-0 run, knocking down a much-needed three and a floating layup off Corey Floyd Jr.’s shot block.
The next bucket, Oswin Erhunmwunse’s tip-in layup following a Joseph miss, pulled Providence even at 38-38 with 11:38 left.
Christ Essandoko and Cardet hit foul shots before Essandoko’s dunk gave Providence its first lead of the second half at 47-46 with 6:16 left.
Joseph canned threes from the left wing and right corner in quick succession inside the 3:00 mark, making it a 55-53 game.
The Blue Devils did tie the game again on Abdul Momoh’s (11 points) free throws with 1:35 left, but they came up empty on multiple late-game possessions. Two fouls given to Pierre allowed the veteran point guard to ice the game.
Central benefited from 11 Providence turnovers in the first half, taking a 26-24 advantage into intermission. The visitors were ahead for 14:10 and led by as many as six points throughout the period.
Erhunmwunse dunked home the first Friar points 1:39 into the game. Jabri Abdur-Rahim’s 3-pointer at 15:37 gave the hosts their first lead at 7-6, but it never stretched beyond two points before half.
Providence did not hold a first-half lead after Cardet’s trey at the 10:02 mark and had a scoring drought of nearly five minutes broken on Joseph’s straight-on three with 5:05 left.
Jones finished a dominant first half on a go-ahead layup with 1:07 left.
Preseason All-Big East honoree Bryce Hopkins, who is in the final stages of recovering from a torn ACL, did not play for Providence.
