It has often been said that the mark of a great scorer is to persevere through periods of difficult shooting and still make big shots. If that old adage is true, then LaDontae Henton reiterated his standing as one of the greatest scorers right now in college basketball on Sunday.
Henton didn't score in the opening ten minutes of the Providence Friars' 77-66 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles, but went on to finish with 25 points and 15 rebounds as he led the Friars on to victory. A strong performance from Kris Dunn, who finished with 16 points and nine assists and one from Tyler Harris, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds off the bench were more than enough to cancel out 22 points from Marquette's Duane Wilson and 21 from Matt Carlino.
As has been their wont against superior teams on the road this season, Marquette started off strong and held an early 17-11 lead. Wilson hit three three-pointers in the game's opening eight minutes, and when he made it 17-11 it seemed that the Friars could be in trouble. However, it was at that moment that Providence flipped a switch and went into another gear.
Henton finally woke up, and baskets from him, Dunn, Tyler Harris, Ben Bentil and a Jalen Lindsay free throw took Providence on an 18-5 run which handed them a 29-22 lead. Marquette gamely fought on for the rest of the first half in an attempt to keep the game close and kept the score to 40-29 at the end of the first period.
The Friars came out of the break flying, and within seven minutes of the restart their lead had expanded to 56-32. Henton simply could not be stopped, and Marquette looked like the conference bottom feeders which they are. It seemed as if the game was all over at that moment, and the Golden Eagles would lose their fifth straight. However, if there is one thing they have in abundance it is a will to not lose, and that came to the fore over the next ten minutes.
Suddenly, it was Wilson and Carlino who could not be stopped. They completely changed the momentum of the game, and together they scored 27 of Marquette's next 34 points. It seemed that the upset and improbable comeback truly was on the cards when Carlino knocked down a three-pointer with 2:01 left on the clock to cut the deficit to 71-66.
However, it was not to be for Marquette as they would not be able to score again and some clutch shooting from Providence would take the Friars on to their 20th win of the season. With the win, Providence improves to 20-9 (10-6 Big East) and they will now prepare for a trip to Seton Hall on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Marquette drops to 11-17 (3-13 Big East) and must attempt to regroup before playing St. John's on Wednesday night.