McDermott, Efejuku guide Friars past Pioneers
Providence got double-doubles from junior Geoff McDermott and junior Weyinmi Efejuku, as the Friars knocked off the Pioneers from Sacred Heart 94-89 on Wednesday night.
Efejuku scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, McDermott added 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. McDermott also turned in six assists, six blocks and three steals, filling up the stat sheet for Providence.
Sacred Heart had four players in double figures in the contest, led by Ryon Howard with 16 points. Luke Granato and Chauncey Hardy added 15 points apiece and Drew Shubik dished out a game-high 12 assists.
The Friars took an 11-point advantage into halftime, on top 49-38, but Pioneers came out storming in the second half. Careless ballhandling led to 16 turnover by the Friars, and the Pioneers capitalized on the mistakes by Providence. Sacred Heart used a 28-11 run to take the lead, 70-67, with just over nine minutes left to play in the second half. However, Sacred Heart’s lead would not hold up.
A pair of free throws by McDermott with a little over nine minutes to play in the ballgame tied the score at 71-71 and Providence outscored Sacred Heart 23-18 the rest of the way. The loss drops Sacred Heart to 3-7, snapping their season-high three-game winning streak.
Providence improves to 7-3 on the year, and they will put their undefeated home record (4-0) to the test, when they host Florida State on Saturday Dec.22nd at 4 p.m.
Tags: Geoff McDermott, NCAA Men's basketball, Providence Friars, Sacred Heart Pioneers, Weyinmi Efejuku