Xavier Musketeers vs Providence Friars Box Score on Feb 23, 2022

Jared Bynum scored a game-high 27 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer in the third overtime to help No. 11 Providence outlast visiting Xavier, 99-92 in a Big East game on Wednesday.

The game was delayed during regulation because of condensation on the floor, making play hazardous.

Nate Watson, who scored 12 points for the Friars (23-3, 13-2 Big East) scored inside with 1:19 to play in the third overtime to break a tie. After Adam Kunkel missed a 3-point attempt for Xavier (17-10, 7-9), Bynum drained a long trey with 32 seconds left.

Bynum sustained an apparent leg injury in a scramble for the rebound after a subsequent miss and left the game. Noah Horchler, who scored 10 points, made two free throws to close the scoring.

A.J. Reeves scored 16 points, Al Durham had 13 and Justin Minaya added 12 for the Friars.

Kunkel led Xavier with 20 points and Paul Scruggs added 19. Scruggs forced the third overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Zach Freemantle scored 15 points, Colby Jones had 14 and Dwon Odom and Jack Nunge each had 11 for the Musketeers, who have lost three straight.

Providence left the door open in the second OT when both Watson and Alyn Breed split a pair of free throws in the final seconds. Scruggs rebounded the miss of Breed's second shot, dribbled quickly upcourt and let fly. His trey from the left wing withstood a lengthy replay review when it was determined he was just outside the arc before he took the shot.

Freemantle scored on a power move off a pass from Jones to put the Musketeers ahead 70-68 with 45 seconds to go in regulation. But Durham hit a short jumper with 23 seconds to go to tie it. Kunkel's short, contested jumper missed, forcing overtime.

Durham returned after sitting one game because of a sports hernia that has been plaguing him. He also missed part of the second half after he apparently aggravated it with a hard fall.

Xavier built a 75-70 lead in the first overtime by making five of six foul shots, but the hosts tied it on Bynum's three-point play and Minaya's tip-in with 1:19 to go.

Two consecutive baskets by Bynum gave Providence a 79-75 lead in the second overtime, but Xavier scored the next six points, capped by Kunkel's second-chance basket with 1:47 to go.

Bynum made one of two foul shots and then hit a short jumper with 42 seconds left to put the Friars ahead, 82-81.

The game was halted with 2:43 left in regulation after Providence's Watson slipped while trying to defend Odom, who took advantage for a driving layup, giving the Musketeers a 66-63 lead. At first it appeared the switch in defenders and the 6-2 Odom's quickness had tripped up the 6-10 Watson.

But it soon became clear that there was water on the floor, coming from condensation in the ceiling after an unseasonably warm February day. The building also houses an ice hockey team.

Reeves hit a three after the stoppage to tie the score at 66, and Durham made one of two foul shots to put the Friars back in front 67-66 with 2:05 to go.

There was a similar situation four years ago in which a game against Seton Hall was suspended and finished the next day at the Friars' on-campus gym. On that occasion, Seton Hall's Desi Rodriguez sprained an ankle because of the wet conditions.

--Field Level Media