PROVIDENCE – Exhibition or not, Saturday’s effort at Amica Mutual Pavilion will offer some encouragement for Providence men’s basketball fans.
The Friars never trailed Pittsburgh while making easy work of an old Big East rival, pulling away over the final 12 minutes for what was ultimately a comfortable victory.
Miles Byrd led four players in double figures, and Providence dished out 22 assists, a number it bettered only once during a lost 2025-26 campaign. The Friars started fresh with this 87-64 dismissal of the Panthers, and the 4,601 fans in attendance got a first glimpse of what will be the 100th team in program history.
“Exhibition game, but proud of the effort,” Providence coach Bryan Hodgson said. “That’s really what’s important – getting better week by week and then coming out here and playing with the right attitude and effort.”
Providence played a closed scrimmage with Boston College last weekend and was without Devin Vanterpool (left ankle) and Ryan Sabol (left shoulder) in this one. Those absences didn’t stop the Friars from mounting the deciding 21-2 run midway through the second half. Jonathan Powell’s 3-pointer that made it a 57-52 game was the last field goal Pittsburgh made to draw within two possessions.
“It’s fun getting up and down,” Byrd said. “Every hooper would love to play this type of way.”
Here are three takeaways from the first public viewing of the Friars in this 2026-27 campaign.
New emphasis on assists
Providence willingly shared the ball throughout, assisting on 66.7% of its 33 made field goals. Malik Mack and Gavin Hightower closed with seven apiece while serving as the primary ballhandlers.
“We trust each other to make shots,” Mack said. “We’re an unselfish basketball team that wants to move the ball and go from a good shot to a great shot.”
That’s some carryover for Hodgson from his South Florida team last season. The Bulls were a top-50 team nationally, according to KenPom.com, assisting on 58.4% of made baskets. The Friars were the opposite – 294th nationally at just 47.5%, their lowest number since a final season under Keno Davis in 2010-11.
“We have a very unselfish group,” Hodgson said. “We built the roster that way. They trust one another.”
Willingness to shoot from deep
Arrinten Page and Ryan Mela flashed some shooting touch they hadn’t necessarily shown previously in their careers.
Page closed 4-for-8 from 3-point range and Mela finished 3-for-4 from deep. That marksmanship helped lift Providence to a 15-for-39 effort as a team – they attempted just 31 2-point shots and eight free throws on the day.
Page is a 6-foot-11 big man who attempted just 16 3-pointers with USC in 2023-24 and nine with Cincinnati in 2024-25. He shot more frequently from deep with Northwestern last year, closing 11-for-44. Page had never made four 3-pointers in any two-game stretch, let alone in a single contest.
“Not that it’s a focus, but he can do that at a high level,” Hodgson said. “That’s why we recruited him. We’re going to play a little differently than where he was at before us.”
Mela nearly doubled his attempts last year, going from 30 3-pointers taken as a freshman to 58 as a sophomore. He could eclipse that second number as a junior playing in a system that encourages shots from deep. Hodgson’s three teams at Arkansas State and South Florida were all top-100 groups nationally in terms of 3-pointers taken versus overall field goal attempts.
Status report on injuries
The Friars used all 10 available scholarship players in this one.
Vanterpool was in a walking boot and using a scooter to make his way around the floor. He was projected as a scoring guard after a transfer from Florida Atlantic and the first captain named by Hodgson midway through preseason camp. Vanterpool suffered his injury during practice this week.
“I can’t tell you when he’ll be back – it's nothing crazy or serious,” Hodgson said. “But this is the time of the year where you can make sure he gets the full rest that he needs on that ankle to make sure that he’s ready to go when we tip the ball for real.”
Sabol was in street clothes at the end of the bench along with his fellow guard. He was hurt in practice after getting caught in ball screen action and spraining his left shoulder joint. The transfer from Buffalo is also considered day-to-day, and his status for next weekend’s exhibition against Georgia Tech is uncertain.
“Maintenance things right now,” Hodgson said. “Ryan is also day-to-day.”
PITTSBURGH (64): Jonathan Powell 3-10 7-8 15, Chase Foster 4-9 0-0 8, Baye Ndongo 6-8 0-0 13, Jalil Bethea 1-6 3-4 5, Naithan George 3-4 2-2 9, A’lahn Sumler 4-9 2-3 12, Armani Mighty 0-0 2-3 2, Macari Moore 0-0 0-1 0, Dominique Diomande 0-0 0-0 0, Ibrahim Souare 0-0 0-0 0, Jermal Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 16-21 64.
PROVIDENCE (87): Javon Bardwell 3-7 0-1 6, Samson Aletan 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Mela 5-7 2-2 15, Miles Byrd 5-16 3-4 17, Malik Mack 4-10 1-1 10, Arrinten Page 6-10 0-0 16, Gavin Hightower 3-9 0-0 7, Clyde Walters 1-2 0-0 2, Jacob Bannarbie 3-3 0-0 6, Leonardo Marangon 3-6 0-0 8. Totals 33-70 6-8 87.
Halftime – Pro., 37-28. 3-point FG – Pitt. 6-21 (Powell 2-7, Foster 0-2, Ndongo 1-1, Bethea 0-5, George 1-1, Sumler 2-5), Pro. 15-39 (Bardwell 0-1, Mela 3-4, Byrd 4-12, Mack 1-4, Page 4-8, Hightower 1-4, Walters 0-1, Marangon 2-5). Rebounds – Pitt. 26 (Ndongo 7), Pro. 42 (Byrd 7). Assists – Pitt. 14 (Sumler 5), Pro. 22 (Mack 7, Hightower 7). Turnovers – Pitt. 16 (Ndongo 6), Pro. 13 (Bardwell 4). Attendance – 4,601.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lots to like in Providence basketball's exhibition win over Pittsburgh