PROVIDENCE — A game after having its toughness questioned, Providence men’s basketball responded accordingly.

Bensley Joseph pulled down the first offensive rebound in a second-half sequence against Green Bay. Wesley Cardet’s second-chance look was corralled by Rich Barron as he was fouled inside.

Barron then capped the possession at the line, in a game that was already in hand, and that sequence is usually left as a box score note. But Providence out-rebounded Green Bay, its physicality was unmatched and it showed in the final 20 minutes.

It’s what Big East teams can do in early non-conference games, but Providence hadn’t displayed such physicality through three contests. The Friars flipped a switch in the second half on Saturday night for a 79-65 finish and the 11,927 in attendance at the Amica Mutual Pavilion enjoyed an unseasonably warm night downtown.

“These games have been a lot of really good reps for us that we haven’t gotten,” Providence coach Kim English said. “But they’re reps in a time where the most important thing is to win the game. It’s some harsh lessons, but we’re making steps in the right direction.”

Jayden Pierre (7-10 shooting) finished with a team-high 18 points in 31 minutes as Providence (4-0) went small and still managed 15 offensive rebounds (12 in the second half). Pierre, Cardet, Joseph and Corey Floyd Jr. all crossed 30 minutes in the four-guard lineup. The Friars’ 12-0 run, sparked by Ryan Mela’s spin and finish in the lane, handed Providence a 55-50 advantage with 11:47 to play.

Mela found Pierre in the corner for a 3 and then Floyd caught a lob from Cardet for a 7-0 spurt that tied the game at 50-all. Another Pierre 3 and a second-chance layup fromJoseph capped the sequence that put Providence on cruise control.

“It’s just the standard [of Providence basketball],” English said. “We can see the first two possessions of the game we had no thrust on the glass. We sent five to the glass and were going to go get those extra possessions. And the guys did a good job of that in the second half.”

Barron’s second-chance possession landed six minutes later as Providence pushed its lead to 11. The Friars won the rebounding margin by 10 and shot 43.5% from the floor.

“I thought we got everything we needed out of this trip,” Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb said. “[Green Bay] saw what they can do. And they saw, if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, what happens. They got beat up by a Big East team. We all know that’s Big East basketball. Men win the Big East on the boards.”

Bryce Hopkins update

Bryce Hopkins’ return could be coming soon with just one game left — Tuesday night’s contest against Delaware State — before the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

“He’s getting into more live stuff,” English said. “He had a really good segment of 2-on-2 the other day with [Kieran O’Haire], [Eli DeLaurier] and [Justyn Fernandez]. He dominated that and just implementing him more and more into practice.

“He’ll keep doing 5-on-5 and when he’s ready to go, he’ll go. Really excited about getting him back soon.”

Isaiah Miranda returns

Pawtucket native, Isaiah Miranda, returned to the Ocean State with Gottlieb’s Green Bay group. Miranda finished with five points on 2-for-5 shooting over seven minutes. Miranda is at his third school in as many seasons after previous stops at North Carolina State and Oklahoma State.

“There’s not athletes like that in the Horizon League,” Gottlieb said of Miranda. “If we can get him to the finish line, it’ll be really rewarding.

“There’s so many things he has to learn and it’s our job to teach him. He’s come along, really proud of him. It’s a lot emotionally for any kid to come home.”