Greg Lahr ’26

by Greg Lahr ’26 on January 29, 2026

The Providence College men’s basketball team suffered a tough loss to Marquette University on Monday, Jan. 19. Unfortunately, the team capped the week off with an even tougher loss to former Friar head coach Ed Cooley and Georgetown University on Saturday, Jan. 24, dropping to 9–11 for the season.

On Jan. 19, Providence led Marquette by three with four seconds left, up 94– 91. According to ESPN’s gamecast, they had a 95.3 percent chance of winning that game. They had the ball. Then, a turnover, foul on a three-point shot, and overtime, where the team lost. A common theme with this year’s PC men’s basketball team: they were unable to close out a tight game. The Friars ended up dropping a heartbreaker, adding another OT loss to their resume, 104 to 105.

Still, the team had a chance of keeping fans bought in for what is left of this season. They had a chance at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, against former head coach Cooley on his third trip back to Providence to face the Friars. PC versus Georgetown, which always draws a big crowd and generates angst among fans and students, did not yield the result most expected after the halftime score. 

The Providence Friars led 43–25 at halftime against their Big East rival, the Georgetown Hoyas. Again, it was a tale of two halves, according to head coach Kim English. There was 13:04 left in the second half, and guard Jaylin Sellers ’26G slammed a dunk to make it 59–39 Friars. Again, according to ESPN, the Friars had a 99.4 percent chance to win the game at that point. Yet, they lost, 81–78.

In a game where the Hoyas seemed more than disinterested, they came into Providence, overcame a 21-point deficit, and finally beat PC on their home court for the first time during the Cooley era. They scored 56 points in the second half, and the Friars had no answer. The Hoya’s lead guard, KJ Lewis, had a total of 26 points, 21 of which came in the second half to carry them to the win.

Again, this has been common with this year’s men’s basketball team. On Nov. 8 vs. Virginia Tech, the Friars were up two with five seconds left. They lost in overtime. On Jan.  7 vs. the University of Connecticut, the Friars were up 11 with 3:12 to play. They lost in overtime. On Jan.19 vs. Marquette University, the Friars were up four with one minute left. They lost in overtime. Now, on Saturday vs. Georgetown, the Friars led by 20 with 13:04 left, but they lost. They watched their 21-point lead dwindle rapidly with star Jamier Jones ’29 sitting on the bench for the majority of the second half. Closing out games has not been the team’s strong suit this year.

With an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament pretty much impossible now, the team will need to build momentum heading into the Big East Tournament. “Don’t count us out,” guard Sellers said after the game. One thing is for certain: this team has won at Madison Square Garden this year. If the Friars can string a few wins together, they can build that momentum needed to compete for a Big East Tournament championship at Madison Square Garden.