David Duke scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half and added a career-high 13 rebounds as Providence posted a 71-55 home victory over Butler in a Big East contest Wednesday.

Nate Watson added 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting for the Friars (7-3, 3-1 Big East), who won for the fifth time in six games while avenging their lone loss during the streak, a 70-64 loss to the Bulldogs on Dec. 23.

Jair Bolden scored 15 points and made four 3-pointers and Bryce Nze added 10 points and six rebounds for Butler (2-4, 1-2).

The Bulldogs played their fourth straight game without point guard Aaron Thompson, who continues to rehab a sprained knee after posting 35 points and 10 assists in the first two games this season.

Duke, who entered averaging 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, finished 9 of 11 from the floor and finished with eight assists -- one shy of his career high. Over his last six games, the 6-5 junior has averaged 22.8 points per game.

A.J. Reeves, who drained four 3-pointers against DePaul on Sunday, including one from the right wing with six-tenths of a second left to force overtime in an eventual 95-90 double overtime victory, had 12 points on 4 of 5 shots from the arc. Jared Bynum added 12 points and six assists.

Providence smothered the Bulldogs defensively, holding them to 34.4 percent shooting (21 of 61) and less than 30 percent until the last 10 minutes.

Butler did not score back-to-back hoops until just over seven minutes remained. Those buckets sparked a 14-5 run that brought Butler within 62-51 with just under three minutes left. Watson then converted an inside hoop before Reeves drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to restore order.

Duke made his first seven shots from the floor, mostly from the inside, ripped down seven boards and handed out four assists to propel the Friars to a 35-18 halftime lead.

Watson made 4 of his 5 attempts as the Friars shot 15 of 25 from the floor (60 percent).

Butler couldn't contain the two Providence stars and couldn't generate any offense of its own. The Bulldogs shot 28.6 percent (8 of 28) in the opening 20 minutes, shot 1 of 9 from the arc and scored three points in the last 10 1/2 minutes.

--Field Level Media