Seton Hall’s Larry Davis, front, casts wary eyes as the Friars’ Weyinmi Efejuku approaches during the second half of last night’s game at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

PROVIDENCE — Remember the Defense First mantra preached all season long by the Providence Friars? Scrap that.

Seton Hall torched every defense the Friars threw its way last night as a spectacular second-half effort led to an 88-75 victory before a dejected crowd of 9,147 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The Pirates shot a sizzling 57 percent in the second half to roll to their third straight Big East win and improve to 13-6 overall and 3-3 in the league.

Providence lost for the first time at home this season and fell to 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the Big East. Up next are road games at Syracuse and Notre Dame.

“The defense broke down,” said PC guard Jeff Xavier. “They made good adjustments in the second half.”

The main adjustment was a burst of energy that was actually provided by the Friars in the final minutes of the first half. After opening up leads of as many as 15 points early, PC was outscored, 17-7, over the final 6:50. When Eugene Harvey stole a Dwain Williams pass and scored on a layup with two seconds left to cut the PC lead at the break to 38-37, the Pirates sprinted off the court while the home team wondered what had hit them.

“We heard them going into the locker room. They were feeling it,” said PC’s Geoff McDermott.

PC coach Tim Welsh said he knew he had a problem on his hands at the break. Not only did the Friar offense total just three assists, but he was looking at roomful of long faces.

“When you give a team a little kick-start into life after being down, they seem to get their mojo going,” Welsh said. “It’s a one- point game at halftime and you hear them down the hall and they’re acting like they won the game and we’re walking in with our heads down. You look at the scoreboard and we’re still leading, so I’m trying to get us going again, but momentum is a funny thing. It kind of carried into the second half.”

The second half was a nightmare and clearly PC’s worst defensive half of the season. Seton Hall racked up 51 points and systematically carved apart the Friar defense. The visitors hit 10 of their first 14 shots to build a 63-53 lead with 10 minutes left. Welsh tried man-to-man and zone, but great efforts by seniors Brian Laing (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Jamar Nutter (19 points) sparked the Pirates.

“At one time we had charted that they had scored 17 out of 19 possessions,” Welsh said. “One timeout, I just said, ‘What do you want me to do? We’ve played man, zone, we’ve changed lineups. It’s got to be you to go get it.’

“It’s not the scheme. You’ve got to just play basketball and be able to guard people,” Welsh said.

“When we make shots, we’re a dangerous team,” said Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez. “Once we were down only one at the half, we felt like we could win the game because we hadn’t played very well.”

With their confidence shaken on defense, the Friar offense sputtered. PC forced too many 3-pointers and came away empty, making just 6 of 23 shots. PC finished the second half shooting 34 percent and 38 percent for the game. Weyinmi Efejuku led the Friars with 23 points, but eight came on free throws. After a hot start, Xavier cooled and finished with 16 points, on 6-for-17 shooting.

McDermott was really bothered by Laing, a strong and active swingman who pressured PC’s floor general all game. Seton Hall came to town on a high after upsetting Louisville last Saturday, 92-82. The Pirates are the Big East’s highest-scoring team.

“A lot of people on our team can score the ball,” said Laing. “I’m sure they saw the Louisville game and saw Jeremy Hazell (score 29 points). This time it was Jamar Nutter’s turn.”

Xavier said the Friars knew all about Seton Hall’s offensive firepower, but the defense simply wasn’t up to the task.

“Coach Welsh told us to get out to their shooters, but all of a sudden we weren’t getting to them,” said Xavier. “It’s a tough loss. We needed to take care of our home court and separate from them but we didn’t do it.”

kmcnamar@projo.com