Jayden Pierre Comes Up Clutch in a Critical Win at Xavier

"There’s no limit on how good Jayden can be. There’s no limit on the impact he can have on the game. He’s a very special talent.”

Desperately seeking a win on the road (and another Quad 1 victory) to boost their NCAA Tournament resume, Providence had done just enough to position themselves to steal one in the final five minutes at Xavier on Wednesday night.

The Friars trailed for essentially all of the game’s first 35 minutes in Cincinnati, and despite foul trouble that kept Josh Oduro sidelined for much of the second half, PC stay connected behind critical plays from its role players — paving the way for sophomore guard Jayden Pierre to hit two of the biggest shots of his young career.

Providence took its first lead of the second half (71-69) when Pierre knocked down a right wing three on a pass from Devin Carter at the 5:22 mark. Pierre then buried another 3-pointer on the next possession on a feed from Oduro to make it a 74-69 game.

Momentum had swung at that point. Pierre’s threes kicked off a 9-0 Friar spurt that was capped with just over three minutes left on the clock by a Carter layup. PC led 77-69 at that point, and held on for dear life over the final three minutes.

Ticket Gaines blocked a game-tying attempt from Xavier’s Desmond Claude at the rim with five seconds left, gathered the rebound, and made both free throws on the other end to help the Friars pick up a massive 79-75 road victory.

Kim English received contributions up and down his roster. Carter’s shot was off from beyond the arc, but he still finished with team highs of 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks.

Freshman Rich Barron knocked down consecutive threes early in the second half to keep Xavier from pulling away (he finished with 10 points and three 3-pointers), Corey Floyd Jr. added 11, while Rafael Castro had one of his strongest games of the season off the bench.

Oduro picked up his fourth foul with over 14 minutes left to play, which typically spells disaster for the Friars. Providence’s plus/minus numbers are ugly this season with Oduro on the bench, but Castro finished a +7 on Wednesday, hitting the glass (6 boards), scoring on a pair of dunks (including a lob in traffic from Pierre in the second half). He also found Carter on a pretty backdoor bounce pass, and paved the way for a Floyd Jr. layup with a seal to make it 61-60 with ten minutes to play.

But it was Pierre who may have been the biggest difference in this one. The sophomore point guard matched a season high with 17 points. He got into the paint consistently, dished out five assists, came up with three steals, and hit the biggest shots of the night in the clutch.

Providence led for just a minute of game action prior to Pierre’s late 3-pointers, but never trailed again from that point on.

English hasn’t been shy about his expectations for Pierre, dating back to last summer. He compared him to McKinley Wright, a three-time All-Pac 12 performer that English coached at Colorado. English believes the only thing holding Pierre back from an even greater leap forward is his humble nature.

“I think Jayden Pierre is so good,” English said. “There’s no limit on how good Jayden can be. There’s no limit on the impact he can have on the game. He’s a very special talent.”

Pierre struggled through a tough shooting night at Villanova three weeks ago, but has since shot 10-23 from beyond the arc (43%). The Friars are 4-1 during that stretch, with the only loss coming without Oduro against Butler.

Providence is now 18-9 on the season and 9-7 in the Big East — good for fifth in the league. The road win at Xavier also gave them their fifth Quad 1 victory of the season. The Friars still have plenty of work ahead of them to solidify their NCAA Tournament resume, but this was a significant step forward.

The Friars set, or flirted with, highs in a number of categories on Wednesday.

PC’s 18 assists marked their third-highest total of the season (they had 25 versus Wagner and 19 at DePaul), and their eight blocks were their best in conference play this year. Their 39.4% Offensive Rebound Percentage was their second best mark of the season.

Providence now has a week off to prepare for a stiff test, as they play at Marquette in six days. They’ll enter that game as one of the hotter teams in the Big East, winners of four of their last five, and seven of their last ten games.

They pulled out Wednesday’s win on a night in which it took contributions from up and down the roster to take home a victory.