PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Seton Hall decided not to double team Providence's Ryan Gomes. The Pirates wanted to see if anybody else could beat them one on one.
The plan worked.
Gomes scored 28, but Seton Hall contained his teammates enough to record a 55-46 victory Sunday.
"It was our best defensive game from beginning to end since I've been here," said coach Louis Orr, in his third season at Seton Hall.
Andre Sweet was 7-of-9 from the field and scored 18 to lead Seton Hall (14-4, 4-2 Big East), which won its third in a row - all in the conference.
No. 23 Providence (14-4, 5-2) had its six-game winning streak snapped. The Friars fell out of a first-place league tie with No. 7 Pittsburgh.
"We didn't play with that swagger (we had) in the past three weeks," Providence coach Tim Welsh said.
"We played back on our heels and sideways, but they make you play that way. We just didn't have that look."
Gomes, who had 13 rebounds, scored 20 in the second half, including 16 in a row.
NO. 25 OU 52, NEBRASKA 50: Lawrence McKenzie scored 18, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:24 left for the visiting Sooners, who nearly blew a 17-point lead. McKenzie matched his career high with five 3-pointers and had 10 rebounds for Oklahoma (13-4, 3-3 Big 12), which scored just 16 in the second half and went a stretch of 10:18 without scoring. Brian Conklin gave Nebraska a 45-44 lead with 3:28 left when he capped a 15-0 run by the Cornhuskers (11-6, 1-5). McKenzie's free throw with 3:08 left stopped the Sooners' drought. After Nebraska's Andrew Drevo missed underneath, McKenzie made his final 3 to put Oklahoma ahead for good. Jabahri Brown scored 15 for the Sooners.
Nation
DUQUESNE 85, ST. BONNIE 78: Elijah Palmer scored 21 and added eight rebounds for the visiting Dukes (9-10, 4-4 Atlantic 10). Duquesne outrebounded St. Bonaventure 47-32 as it snapped a two-game losing streak. St. Bonaventure (6-12, 2-5) lost its third in a row. Maurice Young scored 16 in the first half for the Bonnies. He finished with 23 and seven rebounds. Palmer scored seven in the final minute. Ron Dokes had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Duquesne.
CREIGHTON 74, EVANSVILLE 70: Nate Funk scored 21, Kellen Miliner added 20 and Johnny Mathies hit a pair a free throws with eight seconds left to lift the visiting Bluejays (16-2, 8-2 Missouri Valley Conference). The Purple Aces made 29-of-65 shots in the first half, but improved to 51.4 percent in the second half and a 41-27 edge in rebounding overall to help Evansville (3-15, 2-8) pull within 68-65 with 2:19 left. After two Andre Burton free throws cut Evansville's deficit to 72-70 with nine seconds left, Lucious Wagner fouled Mathies to set up the free throws that sealed the game.
State
STETSON 66, GEORGIA ST. 65 (OT): Kevin Craig scored the final five points in overtime on a turnaround jumper and a 3-pointer for the visiting Hatters. Georgia State (13-7, 8-5 Atlantic Sun) forced the extra period when Reo Logan hit two free throws with 1:14 left for a 61-61 tie. Stetson held a 47-33 edge in rebounding. E.J. Gordon led the Hatters (8-11, 5-7) with 18 points.
MERCER 75, JACKSONVILLE 62: James Odoms scored 20 for the host Bears (10-12, 7-6 Atlantic Sun). Mercer took a 33-25 at halftime and Jacksonville (9-11, 4-9) never got closer than four in the second half. Nolan McBride led the Dolphins with a career-high 23. Haminn Quaintance added 13.
Late Saturday
NO. 10 GONZAGA 79, SANTA CLARA 63: Blake Stepp had 21 points and eight assists as the Bulldogs (17-2, 7-0 West Coast Conference) won their 10th in a row. Cory Violette added 14 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga, which beat the Broncos for the sixth consecutive time. Santa Clara (12-10, 4-3) lost at home for the first time in five league games.
