Guard Victor Council scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half to lead visiting Providence to an 80-72 victory over Fairfield on Monday.

Bryce Cotton also had a huge second half with 17 of his 24 points as the Friars (2-0) beat the Stags (1-1) for the 11th straight time and improved to 31-5 all time against Fairfield.

It was a triumphant return for Providence coach Ed Cooley, who spent the last five seasons at Fairfield before he was hired by the Friars.

Rakim Sanders poured in 25 points and Ryan Olander added 17 for the Stags, who lost their 10th consecutive game to a Big East Conference opponent.

Council shook off what appeared to be an early injury to his knee to lead a pair of game-breaking surges as Providence erased a 30-29 halftime deficit against the upset-minded Stags.

Council and Cotton had all the points in a 14-0 surge to give the Friars a 47-37 lead with 14 1/2 minutes remaining.

After Fairfield ran off 10 straight points to tie it, Council had six points in an 11-0 run to make it 60-49 with just over eight minutes to play.