Friar Offense Stalls Late at Xavier

Providence was just where they wanted to be with nine minutes to play in Saturday night’s game at Xavier. Alpha Diallo made four consecutive free throws to put PC ahead, 50-47, at the 8:59 mark of the second half.

Xavier has played better of late, knocking off Seton Hall on the road last weekend before taking out DePaul four days later, but this is a Musketeer team that struggles to score. Pushing the lead to 7-8 would have felt like 15.

The Friars had a chance to extend their lead further after getting a stop on the possession following Diallo’s made free throws, but instead Diallo turned the ball over when trying to back his man down from beyond the 3-point arc. That led to a layup for…