Box Score Providence, R.I. – Senior Esaie Touze (Providence, R.I.) was named the Most Outstanding Player after leading the Johnson & Wales University Providence men's basketball team to the championship of the inaugural JWU Cup at the Wildcat Center on Saturday afternoon. Providence posted an 85-66 victory against North Miami in the Championship game. Denver took home third-place for the tournament with a 76-74 victory against Charlotte in the consolation game. The event features teams from all four JWU Campuses and is part of the University's year-long Centennial Celebration.
The Championship game saw a back and forth battle throughout the early part of the game with the score knotted 15-15 with 11:28 left on the clock. Providence then used a 13-0 run, capped by a three pointer by Touze with 8:11 left for the 28-15 advantage. Providence led by as many as 16 points several times in the stanza before taking the 43-27 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Providence had a commanding 28-6 advantage in points in the paint and held North Miami to just 27.6% from the field. Providence's lead grew to as many as 18 early in the second half, but North Miami responded and cut the lead to just seven points after a traditional three-point play by senior Jonathan Lowe (St. David's Bermuda) with just over 11 minutes left to play made the score 57-50. Providence responded, however and pushed their lead back up to 15 points as a layup by sophomore Quarry Greenaway (Westchester, N.Y.) made the score 76-58. Providence then cruised to the 85-66 victory. Touze had a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds while Greenaway, who joined Touze on the All-Tournament Team, added 19 points, 10 boards, three rebounds and three assists. Senior Curtis Lucas (Providence, R.I.) was also in double-figures with 15 points and five boards in the victory. Junior Ralph Nin (Miami, Fla.) recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for North Miami while senior Myles Smith (Davie, Fla.) tallied a team-high 13 points with three boards in the setback.
In the consolation game, the two teams traded leads early on with the score tied 15-15 midway through the stanza. Denver then used a 9-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by junior
David Elcher (Rogers, Ark.) to make the score 24-17 with 7:15 left in the half. Charlotte responded with a 16-2 run of their own and led 33-26 on a three point basket by junior
DeQuincey Bennett (Savannah, Ga.) with just over a minute remaining. Charlotte took the 35-28 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Charlotte shot 46.4 % (13-of-28) from the field and forced Denver into 13 turnovers. Charlotte built their lead to as many as 14 points midway through the second half after a pair of free throws by Bennett made the score 66-52 with 9:44 remaining in the contest. Denver rallied, however and scored the next 14 points of the game to knot the score 66-66 on a free throw by senior
Demetris Love (Marked Tree, Ark.). Denver then used a 9-4 run to take the 75-70 advantage on a pair of free throws from
Donavyn Persley (Los Angeles, Calif.). Charlotte cut it to just one (75-74) with :18 remaining, but it wouldn't be enough as Denver sank a free throw down the stretch to seal the 76-74 victory. North Miami had all five starters in double-figures, including Love with a team-high 19 points and six assists. Bennett scored a game-high 33 points with four rebounds and three assists in the setback for Charlotte.
Providence improves to 5-4 while North Miami falls to 9-3 on the year. Denver is now 3-10 for the year while Charlotte drops to 5-11.
All-Tournament Team
Esaie Touze – Providence – Most Outstanding Player
Quarry Greenaway – Providence
Quentin Tate – North Miami
DeQuincey Bennett – Charlotte
Demetris Love - Denver
