After falling behind big early on, Northwestern (4-1) couldn’t complete a late comeback against Providence (5-0), ultimately losing 77-72 to Ed Cooley’s Friars.
Despite struggling for most of the contest, Boo Buie led the team in scoring, putting up a 23 points followed closely behind by Pete Nance with 20. First-year Julian Roper II also impressed with four rebounds and four assists in his 23 minutes of play. However, it was the inability of the team as a whole to play up to Providence’s level that doomed the ‘Cats.
Northwestern came out of the gates looking a little slow, allowing Providence to jump out to a quick 10-4 lead by the first break in action.