Devin Carter scored a game-high 21 points as Providence overwhelmed Butler in Indianapolis on Thursday night, cruising to a 72-52 victory to extend its winning streak to six games.
Carter connected on 9 of 16 shots while nabbing four steals on the defensive end. He was also instrumental in crafting a first-half run that broke the game open and put the Friars (11-3, 3-0 Big East) ahead for good.
Ed Croswell chipped in 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Jared Bynum finished with 11 points and a game-high seven assists for Providence, which shot 45 percent from the field (27 of 60).
Jalen Thomas paced the Bulldogs (8-6, 0-3) with 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks. Manny Bates also supplied 12 points and three blocks, and Chuck Harris notched 10 points for Butler, which has dropped three straight following a four-game winning streak.
Nothing came easy from beyond the arc for the hosts, who made just 2 of 16 shots from deep (12.5 percent). They also went just 10-for-16 at the foul line.
The Bulldogs showed some life early in the second half, putting together an 8-0 spurt to trim their deficit to 21. Bates punctuated the surge with a pair of dunks.
But Butler couldn’t generate much momentum from its brief rally, failing to seriously threaten Providence the rest of the way.
Carter got off to a blazing start, scoring 10 of Providence’s first 14 points. His efforts kickstarted a colossal 25-3 run that gave the Friars a commanding 20-point lead, and he also capped the surge with a statement dunk with 7:15 left in the first half.
That lead continued to balloon before Providence went into the break up 46-18. The Bulldogs had pulled within 18 but couldn’t overcome a dismal shooting performance prior to halftime (6-for-24) and 18 first-half points from Carter.
Of the five Butler players to score in the first 20 minutes of action, only Thomas (six points) and Ali Ali (five) scored more than three points.
–Field Level Media