Marquette 81, Providence 71: Junior Cadougan led the way with 15 points as the host Golden Eagles overcame the distraction of a bat flying around the arena to hold off the Friars.

Davante Gardner, Trent Lockett and Vander Blue each added 13 points for Marquette (14-4, 5-1 Big East), which bounced back from an overtime loss at Cincinnati last weekend.

Bryce Cotton scored 19 points and Sidiki Johnson had 14 off the bench as Providence (10-10, 2-6) fell for the eighth time in the last 10 games.

The Golden Eagles held a 58-42 lead with 11:23 left in the second half when the bat started flying around the court. Play was delayed several times over the next few minutes as Marquette’s momentum came to a halt and the Friars chopped the lead to 61-55.

Arena officials finally decided to dim the lights with 7:36 left to see if the bat would settle in the rafters so that the game could be finished without further interruption. Marquette went on an 11-4 run when play was resumed to push the lead back to double digits.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cotton came in leading the Big East in scoring at 21.9 points but was limited to nine field-goal attempts by the Golden Eagles. … Marquette has won 20 straight home games and has taken nine in a row from the Friars. … The Golden Eagles went 19-for-23 from the free-throw line and built up a 31-23 advantage on the glass.