Alpha Diallo scored a game-high 20 points, and host Providence held Fairleigh Dickinson to 43.4 percent shooting in a 69-59 nonconference victory Tuesday night.

The Friars (5-2) also got double-figure scoring from reserves Isaiah Jackson with 11 and Nate Watson with 10 in their second straight win since losing to Michigan in the final of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off tournament.

Xzavier Malone-Key had a team-high 16 points for the Knights (3-3), who were coming off an 80-76 defeat to Lafayette on Sunday.

Fairleigh Dickinson, an 18-loss team last season, hung within 46-38 with 8:56 to go before A.J. Reeves hit a 3-pointer and Diallo converted a three-point play, pushing the Friars into as much as a 16-point advantage.

Diallo's 20-point effort was his third of the young season. He had a season-best 27 in a loss to Wichita State.

Providence shot 50 percent for the game.

Diallo also led the Friars with nine rebounds, while Jackson had a team-high four assists.

Jahlil Jenkins backed Malone-Key with 12 points for the Knights, who hurt themselves with 16 turnovers.

Fairleigh Dickinson reserve Kaleb Bishop led all rebounders with 12 to go with six points, while Darnell Edge accumulated a game-high six assists to complement nine points.

The Knights, who won at Providence in 1984, one year before Rick Pitino became the Friars' coach, played the hosts evenly for the first nine minutes, retaining a 12-12 tie.

However, Jackson and Watson did all the scoring in a 9-0 burst that put the Big East Conference club in command the rest of the way.

The Friars led 30-19 at halftime.

--Field Level Media