Junior David Duke scored 17 points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds Saturday night as Providence climbed above the .500 mark with a 57-47 win over DePaul in Chicago.

A.J. Reeves added 13 points for the Friars (11-10, 7-8 Big East), who won despite the absence of coach Ed Cooley. Assistant coach Jeff Battle ran the team as Cooley was sidelined with a non COVID-19 related illness.

Providence also survived a rare off-night from leading scorer Nate Watson, who didn't manage a point until late in the second half and finished with just four points, 13.9 under his average. The Friars were able to win their second straight game despite making only 35 percent of their field-goal attempts.

The Blue Demons (3-9, 1-9) were even more offensively challenged. Playing without second-leading scorer Charlie Moore (13.7 points per game), sidelined due to a knee injury, they made only 30.6 percent from the field.

David Jones came off the bench to score 10 points for DePaul. Leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty hit just 3 of 11 shots and tallied just seven points before leaving in the second half with an apparent shoulder injury.

Watson and Noah Horchler helped shut off the lane to the Blue Demons by blocking four shots each. Horchler also contributed 11 rebounds.

Neither team established control in a back-and-forth first half that quickly turned into a classic grinder. The first time either one led by more than a possession occurred at the 10:31 mark, when Duke drove the lane and threw down a spectacular dunk as he was fouled. The basket made it 18-14, but he missed the ensuing free throw.

Duke canned a 3-pointer with 6:34 left to give Providence its largest lead of the half at 25-20, but the Friars sputtered for the period's remainder, managing just five more points. But their defense kept DePaul in check.

The Blue Demons took some momentum into the break when Freeman-Liberty penetrated and hit a short jumper with 5.2 seconds remaining. That cut the Providence advantage to 30-28 at halftime.

--Field Level Media