Providence — It's a good thing Kris Dunn has strong, broad shoulders.

He's carrying the heavy weight of expectations and being counted on to lift a young Providence College basketball program to dizzying heights while satisfying the hard-to-please Friar fan base.

Once again, Dunn flexed his muscles on Saturday, dominating during a pivotal stretch in the second half of No. 12 Providence's 83-65 Big East Conference victory over St. John's.

In a brilliance sequence, Dunn put all of his enormous talents on display while scoring 12 straight points to squash St. John's comeback hopes. He finished with a game-high 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in 37 minutes.

A sold-out Dunkin Donuts crowd of 12,410 stood and applauded when Dunn went to the bench with 2 minutes, 48 seconds remaining.

"Every game Kris plays, this whole city is getting on his shoulders," coach Ed Cooley said. "That's why he came back to school. He wants to be the leader, he wants to be 'The Guy.' I'm going to help him do that, so he better have some really strong shoulders."

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Dunn continues to cement his status as one of the leading candidates for national player of the year honors. He's behind the Friars' surprising season. Providence, an impressive 14-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big East, is off to the second best start in program history.

He's made another leap in his development as a star. When his team needs him to take over a game, he responds. That moment arrived about midway through the second half after St. John's trimmed an 18-point deficit to just six.

Dunn delivered a stunning personal 8-0 run.

He buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Then, in a jaw-dropping play, he dribbled into the lane, shook a St. John's defender with a nasty cross-over move and finished with an emphatic two-handed dunk. He also unleashed his emotions.

"You know since New London I've been an emotional player, everybody knows that," Dunn said. "I'm just trying to get the fans and team excited. Just trying to get the energy back in the building. We were kind of dead out there and that's what we needed."

On the next possession, Dunn hit a step-back 3-pointer to hand the Friars a 12-point lead with about seven and a half minutes left. His supporting cast, including rapidly improving sophomore Ben Bentil (20 points, nine rebounds) took it from there.

"They just needed me to be a leader and I tried to do the best that I can," Dunn said.

It's been a process for Dunn to reach the don the Superman's cape and come to the rescue stage. He's always prided himself on being an unselfish player. He so badly wants to be a good teammate and leader.

Dunn's watched a ton of film and worked hard on his game to be ready for his time to shine.

"You've got to pick your spots," Dunn said. "Earlier, you want to try to get everybody involved. Once you feel like you need to be aggressive, you've got to be aggressive. The team looked at me to be aggressive."

The Dunn Fan Club is growing.

St. John's coach Chris Mullin, a Big East legend during his playing days, came away impressed with the junior point guard.

"He's one of the best players in the country," Mullin said. "He's got the total package. He can post up, he can hit the three, he can play off the dribble. He's an impressive player. We tried to crowd him a little bit. And he's good in transition. So he's big-time."

The challenge is only beginning for Dunn.

Big East teams will try to put together a game plan to contain him. The burden will not lighten for the defending Big East player of the year.

"There's a lot of good teams in the Big East," Dunn said. "Every game you've got to come out and play."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe