Without Bryce Hopkins, Providence basketball loses to St. Bonaventure

On December 18, 2024By Littum

Providence played without Bryce Hopkins, who missed the game with left knee irritation.
The Friars struggled early, falling behind by 13 points in the first half and never holding the lead.
St. Bonaventure dominated in the paint, outscoring Providence and outscoring them in the paint.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – It proved to be too little, too late for Providence in this latest appearance at Mohegan Sun.

The potential tying 3-pointer from Rich Barron that rattled out and a layup from Wesley Cardet Jr. that rolled off the rim came after a flurry of early games. The Friars never enjoyed the lead Saturday night against St. Bonaventure, not even when the final horn sounded.

The Bonnies landed the first few shots in the opening half and staved off some trouble in the second. Noel Brown’s pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left finally spilled into a 74-70 victory in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase, another damaging missed opportunity for Providence in terms of building a resume in March.

The Friars made a desperate late push for what would have been a solid nonconference win on a neutral floor, but Barron’s jumper from the left corner bounced out in a 69-66 game. Cardet’s chance came even later — an offensive rebound on a missed Oswin Erhunmwunse free throw, with Providence looking to erase a 72-70 deficit. Brown cleaned up the glass on the second attempt, and St. Bonaventure crossed the finish line in front of 6,370 fans.

“They had a couple of segments in the first half where they really set the tone for what type of game it was,” Providence coach Kim English said. “The rest is just (rubbish), really.

“Playing tough after you’re down, playing tough after you give up a certain amount of offensive rebounds — we’ve got to be tougher.”

The Friars nearly erased their 13-point deficit with 16:55 remaining, getting within one possession four different times. The Bonnies did just enough to drop Providence to 0-4 on neutral floors and 0-3 against Atlantic 10 foes this 2024-25 season. It’s nothing but Big East games from here, starting with a visit from St. John’s on Dec. 20, and Providence figures to need a healthy dose of success over the next two full months to spark any NCAA Tournament hopes.

“When you start living or dying on a ball rattling in or out, or an umpire making a call here or there or blowing the whistle late — there’s so many things that happened before that,” English said. “The softness early in the game means that the margins are thin late in the game.

“When you fight back and come back and all that shit—whatever. Do it early. Do it to start the game.”

Bryce Hopkins missed this one (left knee irritation) after playing 36 minutes in an overtime road win at DePaul, and the Friars were penalized in the paint without him. St. Bonaventure built a 35-26 halftime lead thanks to a 27-15 advantage on the boards, 13 offensive rebounds, a 16-7 second-chance scoring margin and a 22-8 scoring differential in the paint. Providence didn’t connect on its first 2-point field goal until Cardet’s bucket in the left post with 4:29 left and shot just 26.9% from the floor.

“I think you have to land the first punch,” said St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. “You can’t play for now. You can’t play on your heels. You have to attack them. You set the tone.”

It continued early in the second half as the Bonnies (10-1) threatened to pull away. Melvin Council Jr. zipped to the rim for a layup and a single Chance Moore free throw made it a 45-32 game. Barron connected on consecutive 3-pointers to give the Friars (7-5) some much-needed life, and they were never too far out of striking distance the rest of the way.

“There is no ‘I’ in the team,” said the Council. “We have five starters. Anyone could go for a career high or double digits.”

Ryan Mela was a plus-8 in 18 minutes and Anton Bonke offered some physical presence in his first appearance since Battle 4 Atlantis. Both served as second-half sparks for Providence, but the margin for error was already razor sharp. Council hit Brown on a two-man layup up the middle, and Jonah Hinton buried a 3-pointer from the left corner, two buckets that gave St. Bonaventure a 55-48 lead with 9:47 left. It was typical of the rest – the Brothers were closing in, the Bonnies were always able to keep their noses ahead.

“My team believed in me,” Brown said. “It starts there. They hit me with the ball.”

Hopkins underwent an MRI that found no structural damage to his knee. A team spokesman said he would be reevaluated next week ahead of the visit from Rick Pitino and the Red Storm. Providence fell to 5-4 without Hopkins in the lineup this season and has some of its toughest opponents yet.

“We just look spiritually dead to start the game,” English said. “No emotion, no fight – they just took the game to us.

“Make no mistake about it – tough guys still run the basketball world. Tough pill to swallow as a coach.”

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