Providence 77, DePaul 72: Bryce Cotton scored 28 points and dished out six assists as the visiting Friars held off the Blue Demons in a Big East clash.

LaDontae Henton added 19 points and seven rebounds for Providence (16-6, 6-3 Big East), which shot 53.2 percent from the field. Tyler Harris contributed 18 points and five rebounds while Kadeem Batts grabbed a team-high nine boards for the Friars, who finished 22-of-29 from the free-throw line.

R.J. Curington led the way with a career-high 22 points in a reserve role for DePaul (10-12, 2-7), which has lost four in a row. Tommy Hamilton IV contributed 13 points and eight rebounds while Brandon Young chipped in 12 points and nine assists for the Blue Demons.

Providence knocked down seven of its first nine shots to take a 16-7 lead and extended its advantage to 16 after Josh Fortune's jumper with just over six minutes left in the first half. Curington keyed an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to eight and the Blue Demons hit two straight 3-pointers to pull within 42-37 at the break.

Henton triggered a 7-0 spurt to stretch the Friars' lead to 54-45 before Edwind McGhee scored eight consecutive points to bring DePaul on level terms with seven minutes remaining. Cotton nailed a clutch 3-pointer to put Providence on top 67-62 and the Friars went on to secure their sixth win in their last seven games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Providence leads the all-time series 23-8. … Cotton finished with 20 or more points for the 15th time this season. … DePaul played its second straight game without Charles McKinney (injury), Billy Garrett Jr. (illness) and Cleveland Melvin (suspension).