Bryce Cotton scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the first half to lead Providence to a 72-61 win over Bryant on Saturday.
Cotton, who went 11 of 16 from the floor, made all 10 of his free throw attempts for the Friars (9-2). LaDonta Henton had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Bryant (1-9) led for much of the game, surging with a 9-2 run to claim an eight-point lead in the second half. The Friars stormed back to tie the game at 44 apiece, but some strong inside play by Bryant's Alex Francis helped the Bulldogs regain the advantage at 56-49.
But Cotton took control, scoring eight points in a row to take the lead on a layup from Vincent Council. They continued their run with eleven more unanswered points to create a 12-point deficit.
Francis led Bryant with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
