PROVIDENCE -- Cut through all the bruising rebounds, deep 3-pointers and physical play that frequently left bodies strewn all over the Dunkin Donuts' Center court last night and listen to George Washington coach Karl Hobbs sum up his team's 86-67 loss to Providence College.

"It's simple. The story of the game is they shot the ball, they missed, then they got it back and put it in the basket," Hobbs said. "Physically, they manhandled us. They played to their strength and it was very effective."

Those are words that should warm the hearts of Friar fans everywhere. Through most of Tim Welsh's nine seasons at PC, his teams have rarely possessed the muscle and strength to overwhelm a good opponent. But in his 200th win as the PC coach, Welsh was more than happy to see his front line dominate a good opponent for the second straight game and deliver a much-needed win.

Much like PC's win over Boston College last Wednesday, this one was decided within three feet of the basket. George Washington saw its 22-game, regular-season win streak end because it had few answers inside. PC won the rebound battle, 51-27, grabbed 26 offensive boards, scored 44 points in the paint and broke the game open thanks to reserve big men Ray Hall and Jon Kale.

The Friars improved to 3-1 on the season and will host Columbia on Tuesday and Rhode Island Saturday.

Trailing, 57-51, with 12:27 left, the Friars went big and rolled the Colonials in a 15-0 blitz sparked by four layups by Hall that ignited a crowd of 6,983.

"What really changed the game is we went to our big front line and dominated the glass and just kept scoring at will," said Welsh. "I think we wore them down with our inside girth, getting up on the glass."

The Colonials, whose 22-game win streak in the regular season was the longest in the nation, came back to cut PC's lead to 71-65, but another push ignited by Sharaud Curry, who finished with a career-high 27 points, put the game away in the final four minutes.

While Curry set career-highs in points and 3-pointers (5) and withstood GW's press for 39 minutes, the Friars' biggest star was senior Herbert Hill. Facing a team stocked with athletic but slim forwards, Hill jumped over everyone for an impressive 20 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. That's the first 20-20 effort by a PC player since Marvin Barnes back in 1974.

GW, which lost four starters off last year's Atlantic 10 championship club, should have a good team again. The Colonials (now 4-1) had five players in double figures and swished 50 percent (12-of-24) of their 3-point shots. Maureece Rice led the way with 15 points.

For the game's first 35 minutes, those shooters caused PC major headaches. Rice, Carl Elliott, Travis King and Noel Wilmore each hit three 3-pointers apiece and a scrappy defense forced the Friars into 19 turnovers. GW led at halftime, 41-40.

"We withstood pretty much their best punch in the first half," said Welsh. "They were getting the ball to great spots against our zone and making 3-pointers."

The Colonials kept rolling early in the second half and went up, 57-51, after a jumper from Wilmore, a big jam at the end of a fastbreak by Regis Koundjia and a King trey. Welsh countered with a bigger lineup featuring Kale and Hall. After Kale was whistled for a technical foul (along with GW's Koundjia), the Friars finally started stopping GW's offense for several possessions in a row.

At the other end, Kale scored down low and then Hall connected on four straight layups to give PC a 61-57 lead. Curry fed Hill for an easy score and then swished a deep 3-pointer to give the Friars a 66-57 lead.

"As long as we keep playing hard, we have enough firepower on offense to play with anyone in the country," said Hill. "We just had to stop them a little. Then they got down and started pressing a little."

After scoring 57 points in the game's first 37 minutes, George Washington lost its steam and managed only 10 over the final 13 minutes.

"I think we wore them out," said Welsh. "We stepped up our defense and we kept attacking their pressure and going at them."

kmcnamar@projo.com / (401) 277-7340