INDIANAPOLIS _ At last.
In a dogfight with yet another top-25 opponent on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Providence College Friars found a way to grab a victory and snap a three-game losing streak.
The Friars upset No. 16 Butler, 65-61, behind some excellent defense and a few late-game breaks that went the visiting team's way.
Luwane Pipkins led the way with 22 points, including six clutch free throws in the final 27 seconds.
Providence improves to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in a Big East that saw league leaders Butler, Villanova and Seton Hall all lose at home on the same day.
Providence led at the half, 31-25, behind some of its best defense of the season. The Friars continually forced contested shots and Butler couldn't get its star, Kamar Baldwin, going at all. Butler finished the half 5 of 17 (29 percent) from the field and would've been in major trouble if the Friars weren't called for 11 fouls that allowed the Bulldogs to score 14 points on 19 free throw attempts.
The Friars blanketed Baldwin in the half and he failed to score a bucket on five tries. Baldwin had bounced back from slow starts in a major way in recent games, going off for 29 points in the second half and overtime against Marquette and scoring 12 in a second half at Georgetown.
Right on cue the Bulldogs' star did get going a bit and that sparked his team into the lead. PC went up 37-29 two minutes into the second half but Butler responded with a 14-4 lead to take a 43-41 lead. Baldwin scored twice and dished off for another bucket in the run.
Two Pipkins 3-pointers righted the ship for the Friars at 49-43 but Butler scored the next three buckets to tie it up. The Friars led 56-54 at the under four-minute timeout and never lost the lead again. Butler's offense hit the skids with only one field goal over the final 4:14.
PC led 61-58 with 22 seconds left when Alpha Diallo's inbound pass went off David Duke. Butler's Bryce Nze scored to make it a one-point game but two Pipkins free throws made it 63-60. Butler's Baldwin then crossed midcourt and appeared to begin a 30-footer but PC's Pipkins was called for a foul on a pass, not a shot.
Baldwin hit two free throws with eight seconds left but Pipkins knocked down two more a second later to give PC the four-point edge it needed.
