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.

All-Tournament Team

Esaie Touze – Providence – Most Outstanding Player

Quarry Greenaway – Providence

Quentin Tate – North Miami

DeQuincey Bennett – Charlotte

Demetris Love - Denver