Uthe's hot hand leads Providence

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:38AM

Lemont and Providence are teams that have been built around underclassmen.

It was a pair of seniors, though, who stepped to the forefront and led their teams.

Colin Uthe led Providence (9-13) to a 67-59 nonconference win over the Indians (8-12).

"This is my last year so I need to step up and take leadership,'' Uthe said. "Some people do it with words and some do it with actions. I like to lead by example.''

Uthe scored 23 points and everyone one of them was needed to offset the offensive firepower of Evan Bridwell who scored 26 points.

The first half saw an aerial battle between the senior guards. Uthe and Bridwell both connected on four three point shots with Bridwell scoring 16 points to Uthe's 14. But it was Providence that held the halftime advantage at 38-34. The Celtics would hold that lead, precariously at times, to the end.

"It sounds like a broken record but at times we are great and other times we struggle because we are a young team,'' Providence coach Tim Trendel said.

"Pound for pound Colin is one of the best shooters around.''

Uthe led Providence to a 14-2 lead with five points before Bridwell scored 11 points during a 17-4 run that saw Lemont capture its only lead of the game on a backdoor layup by Bridwell to make the score 19-18 with 7:05 left in the game.

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