Men's Basketball Hosts Day One Of JWU Cup With Providence & North Miami Advancing To Championship Game

Release at will

December 13, 2013

Providence, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University Providence men's basketball team posted a 93-64 victory against the JWU Denver men's team in the opening round of the JWU Cup at the Wildcat Center on Friday evening.  This marks the first-ever JWU Cup, an event featuring all four JWU campuses (Providence, North Miami, Charlotte and Denver) men's teams competing at the Providence Campus Wildcat Center over the weekend.  The Cup is part of a year-long celebration of the University's Centennial.  Earlier in the day, North Miami posted an 81-75 victory against Denver in the first game of the tournament.

In the nightcap, Providence took control of the game early and took their first double0figure lead when a three-pointer by senior Matt Barboza (Riverside, R.I.) made the score 24-13 with 9:28 left in the first half.  Providence led by as many as 25 points in the first half before taking the commanding 49-27 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.  Providence shot a remarkable 72.0% (18-for-25) from the field in the half and had 14 points off of Denver turnovers.  Providence extended their lead to a game-high 31 points (65-34) in the opening stages of the second on a pair of free throws by sophomore Quarry Greenaway (Westchester, N.Y.) and then cruised to the 93-64 victory. Providence had six players in double-figures, including senior Esaie Touze (Providence, R.I.) with 19 points and five rebounds while Greenaway added 18 points, three rebounds and three steals in the victory.  Senior Demetrius Love (Marked Tire, Ark.) paced Denver with a game-high 31 points, three rebounds and three steals while freshman Michael Mitchell (Milliken, Colo.) was also in double-figures with 13 points in the setback.

In the first game of the evening, the first half saw a frantic back and forth pace with the score tied 18-18 with 11:44 left in the first half.  North Miami took their largest lead of the first half when a pair of free throws by senior Barry Ingram (Bay Shore, N.Y.) with 6:19 remaining.  Charlotte responded, however and took the 32-30 lead on a three-pointer by junior Duane Chisolm (Savannah, Ga.) with 3:09 remaining in the half.  North Miami closed out the half on a 6-0 run to take the 36-32 lead heading into halftime.  North Miami led 38-37 in the opening minutes of the second half before an 8-0 run, capped by a layup by junior DeQuincey Bennett (Savannah, Ga.) put Charlotte up 45-38.  Charlotte held the seven point advantage several timed throughout the second half before North Miami responded and reclaimed the lead, 75-73 on a layup by senior Myles Smith (Davie, Fla.) with just over two minutes left on the clock.  North Miami then held on for the 81-75 victory.  Smith led the way for North Miami with 20 points, two rebounds and three steals while senior Quentin Tate (Staten Island, N.Y.) had 19 points and four boards in the victory.  Bennett and junior Kendrick Anderson (Winnsboro, S.C.) each notched 17 points in the setback.   

Providence improves to 4-4 while Denver falls to 2-10 on the year.  Charlotte drops to 5-10 while North Miami is now 9-2 for the year.  Charlotte will take on Denver in the Consolation game at 1:00 p.m., while North Miami will face-off against host Providence in the Championship game of The Cup starting at 3:00 p.m.

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For more information, contact                                    Dan Booth (401) 598-1632