Devin Vanterpool scored a game-high 21 points and Malik Mack finished with 19 to lead Providence to a 78-55 victory over visiting Bryant on Tuesday night.
Bryant committed 25 turnovers, which included 19 Providence steals. The Bulldogs shot 7 of 26 (26.9%) from 3-point territory.
Miles Byrd finished with 11 points for the Friars, who never trailed in the game. Bryant (1-3) was never closer than nine points in the second half.
Duane Thompson led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Onyx Nnani had 13 and Elijah Crispin tossed in 11.
The Friars (2-1) had a 44-24 edge in points in the paint.
Providence played without Ryan Mela, whom the school said is dealing with a lower leg injury. Through two games, Mela and Vanterpool were each averaging a team-high 11 points per game.
The Friars also didn’t have Arrinten Page, who hasn’t played since sustaining a knee injury in Providence’s opener against Maine.
Providence had an 20-18 lead with 6:01 to play in the first half, but that’s when the Friars turned up the intensity on defense and went on a 12-0 run. Vanterpool capped the surge with a 3-pointer and then two free throws to make it 32-18 with 4:08 remaining in the half.
The Friars had a 38-20 lead — their largest lead of the first half — following a Gavin Hightower layup, but Bryant scored the final five points in the half to cut the deficit to 38-25.
In the first 20 minutes, Bryant went 1-for-10 from 3-point territory and committed 17 turnovers.
Providence matched its largest lead when a Mack layup made it a 51-33 contest. Bryant responded with a 9-0 spurt, thanks to two treys from Crispin and one from Nnani, to get within nine points with 12:01 left.
The Friars answered with a 10-0 spree punctuated by a Vanterpool 3-pointer that extended the lead to 61-42 with 8:17 left, and they continued to pull away after that.
