Box Score THE BASICS:

RESULT: No. 24/23 Providence 89, Hartford 66
LOCATION: Dunkin Donuts Center (Providence, R.I.)
ATTENDANCE: 5,169
RECORDS: Providence (7-1), Hartford (3-5)

THE LEAD:
Jalen Ross scored a career-high 21 points, but a strong run at the end of the first half lifted No. 24/23 Providence to an 89-66 victory over the Hartford men's basketball team on Wednesday. National Player of the Year candidate Kris Dunn delivered a triple-double for the Friars with 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
 
Taylor Dyson added 11 points and George Blagojevic scored 10 to give Hartford three players in double digits, while Justin Graham dished out five assists. Pancake Thomas returned to the floor after missing three games to injury and snared five boards. Ben Bentil added 21 points and Jalen Lindsey scored 15 for the Friars in the win.

FIRST HALF:
After the teams traded three-pointers, the Friars ran off seven straight points to make it a 10-3 lead. But Hartford came right back, with two free throws from Thomas and a three-ball from Graham to make it 10-8. PC came back with a 5-0 run of its own, only to see the Hawks roll off seven straight, the last four on back-to-back layups for Ross to make it 15-all.
 
The Friars scored the next eight points and held a 29-22 lead at the 6:18 mark. Dyson drilled consecutive threes at that juncture to cut the lead to one, 29-28, before the Friars caught fire from the field, hitting nine of their last 10 field goals to close the half on an 18-0 run and take a 47-28 lead into the locker room.

SECOND HALF:
Dyson snapped the rally with a jumper and the teams traded points to a 49-32 score, but the Friars rallied with six straight to make it 55-32. Hartford buckled down, and embarked on a 7-0 run with a Thomas layup and a J.R. Lynch three-ball, and later cut the lead to 16 on a Ross triple at the 12:50 mark.
 
But Providence locked down on the defensive end, and pushed the lead to as much as 29 before Hartford rallied in the closing minutes to result in the final score. Ross delivered 10 of his 21 points in the closing minutes for the Hawks.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Ross went 8-for-11 from the floor in the loss, the finest outing of his career. He went just 4-for-20 from the floor in the previous six games.
 
• Dyson drilled a trio of three-balls in the loss, finishing in double figures for the first time since the season opener with 11 points.
 
• Graham's three steals matched his season high, while his five assists were the top mark of the year for the junior.
 
• TreVaughn Wilkerson made his first appearance since the Louisville game, logging two minutes at the end of the game.

UP NEXT:
Hartford will play its final road game before the holidays when it treks to Hanover, N.H., to take on Dartmouth on Saturday, Dec. 5. Game time is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on WDRC AM 1360, the Talk of Connecticut, with Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne on the broadcast.