Providence is hoping for another strong defensive performance against St. Bonaventure | National sport

Providence begins to take pride in its defense when it takes on St. Bonaventure on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Friars (7-4) have held each of their last three opponents under 65 points , even DePaul, which took Providence to overtime on Tuesday but still lost 70-63. The Blue Demons scored just five points in overtime and shot 32.8 percent from the field for the game. Friars coach Kim English was pleased with his side’s performance but doesn’t believe they have yet to reach their full potential. “I thought it was our most defensive game of the season,” English said of the performance against DePaul. “We still have a few things to work on and will continue to take steps in the right direction.” Slowing down the Bonnies (9-1) will be quite a challenge for Providence’s defense, however, as St. Bonaventure is in the immediate aftermath After their first defeat of the season, they went on a three-game winning streak. The Bonnies most recently won 65-55 last Saturday in Buffalo, behind 16 points from Chance Moore and 12 points each from Melvin Council Jr. and Jonah Hinton. Moore (Missouri State transfer), Council (Wagner transfer) and Hinton (Panola College transfer) are three of St. Bonaventure’s 10 new additions this season, and even after 10 games, the team still feels like it has something to do with its personnel learn . “We’re definitely coming together more,” Moore said after the win over Buffalo. “We recognize that we’re an elite defensive team and we’re going to continue to work on the offense to have both components so we’re really able to beat teams.” But it’s still a work in progress. We have a lot of new guys.” Moore hopes the Bonnies can pick up their pace against a Providence team led by Bryce Hopkins (17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds per game), Jayden Pierre (12.7 points per game) and Bensley Joseph (12.1 points per game).