CHANDLER, Ariz. – Despite trailing by as much as 16 in the first half, the University of Providence men's basketball team scored 62 points in the second half en route to a 96-74 victory over Benedictine – Mesa.

"We found a way to win and that's what good basketball teams do," head coach Steve Keller said. "We were down and out and struggling. I told them at half that in basketball we play forty minutes, not twenty."

The Argos (2-0, 12-0) shot 36% from the field in the first half, compared to the red-hot shooting of the Redhawks (58%). As the teams heading into the locker room for halftime, the 7^th ranked Argos saw themselves in a 12 point hole.

"They played really well the first ball and shot the ball extremely well," Keller said. "We mixed up our defenses a little bit and I think that got them out of rhythm a little bit."

In the second half, the Argos relied on Zaccheus Darko-Kelly and Brandon Cotton, who scored a combined 41 points in the second half to turn the tides. Darko-Kelly finished with 26 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals on 10/12 shooting from the field. Cotton finished with 24 points and four assists.

"Offensively Darko-Kelly and Brandon Cotton took over and got us back in the game," Keller said. "We scored 62 points in the second half. It just shows how explosive we are. We can score. What a great win."

Rashee Stocks scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds for Providence. Joel Thabize scored 10 points and 8 rebounds off the bench for the Argos, while Jaxen Hashley scored 7 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Dawson Fowler had an excellent half, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

"Dawson just fills the stat sheet," Keller said. "He's a redshirt freshman but he's playing way above that."

The Argos will leave Arizona having gone 3-0 in the Cactus Classic. The team will be off for a holiday break before returning to take the court on December 27 against Portland Bible College in Billings, Mont. They'll return to the McLaughlin Center Dec. 29 against Southern Alberta Institute of Technology at 2 p.m.

 "I thought we had two really good games this tournament," Keller said. "We just played. We're scoring in the 90s. For us to win this game by 22, that might be the biggest thing because I didn't know if we could win that game. I'd rather not take a break and just keep playing."