The Sports Xchange
Dec 22, 2017
Rodney Bullock recorded a season high for the second straight game, scoring 31 points to lift-injury riddled Providence to an 89-75 non-conference victory over visiting Sacred Heart on Friday night in Providence, R.I.
After scoring 24 in a 70-59 loss to Houston at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday, Bullock ran up the second 30-point game of his career, coming up five short of his career-high 36, scored Nov. 30, 2016, against New Hampshire.
Bullock was 12 of 24 from the floor, 3 of 10 from 3-point range, and also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots for the Friars (9-4).
Providence was playing without the injured Kyron Cartwright, Alpha Diallo and Maliek White as well as Emmitt Holt (stomach), but jumped to a 19-2 lead and then held off a late comeback bid by the Pioneers (5-8).
Isaiah Jackson scored 17 points and added six rebounds and six assists, Jalen Lindsey scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds and Kalif Young added 10 points and six boards.
Providence, notching a season-high 11 3-pointers and blocking nine shots, was up 81-60 when the visitors went on a 15-2 run to make it closer.
Alex Watson came off the bench to lead Sacred Heart with 15 points, hitting all five shots, three of them from behind the arc, Mario Matisovic had 14 points, Sean Hoehn added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds and Joseph Lopez eight points and eight boards in the loss.
The Friars, picked fourth in the Big East, open conference play with a pair of road games, at St. John's on Dec. 28 and Creighton on Dec. 31. The Pioneers, tabbed to finish fifth in the Northeast Conference, begin league play against St. Francis (Brooklyn) on Dec. 29.