Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Villanova on January 30, 2026 , Loss , 73, to, 87
Men's Basketball
at Villanova
Final
73
-
87
Providence College Athletics
Saturday, February 14
Providence, R.I.
1:00 p.m.
Providence College
11-15,4-11Big East
69
vs
79
St. John's
20-5,13-1Big East
1
2
F
St. John's (NY)
34
45
79
Providence
29
40
69
Men’s Basketball Defeated By #17 St. Johns, 79-69
2/14/2026 4:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stefan Vaaks paced the Friars with 20 points.
PROVIDENCE, R.I.- The Providence College men's basketball team was defeated by the St. John's University Red Storm (20-5, 13-1 BIG EAST), 87-80, on Saturday, Feb. 14 at The Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. With the loss, Providence fell to 11-15 overall and 4-11 in BIG EAST play. Freshman Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) led the Friars with 20 points, Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds.
FIRST HALF:
• The Friars controlled the tip and on the first possession Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) found Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) down low for an easy lay in to give Providence an early 2-0 lead (19:29).
• After a 10-0 St. John's run, Mela muscled his way to the paint and converted a layup for his first points of the afternoon to make it 10-4, St. John's (16:13).
• After several Providence offensive rebounds, Jones was able to find space in the lane for a two-handed slam to cut into the Red Storm lead, 17-7 (13:08).
• On the following possession, Vaaks got going with a three-pointer to make it 19-10, St. John's (12:31).
• Vaaks got through the lane after a crafty move at the top of the key and found Erhunmwunse for an easy lay in. 19-12, St. John's (11:40).
• Out of the media timeout, Jones was able to get downhill and finish at the rim after being fouled. He converted the free throw to complete the and-one opportunity and to make the score 25-15, St. John's (10:49).
• After a pair of Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga) free-throws, Vaaks knocked down a deep step back three to pull the Friars within five and to complete an 8-0 Providence run, 25-20 (7:09).
• Vaaks recorded a steal that led to an easy fast break dunk to keep the Friars within striking distance (5:16).
• Sellers was able to hit a turnaround ten-footer and followed it up with a fast break layup on the next possession to keep the Friars within single digits, 34-26 (1:17).
• Mela found Duncan Powell (Dallas, Texas) for a corner three to pull the Friars within five with under a minute remaining in the half (0:42).
• St. John's led at the half, 34-29.
• Providence shot 11-33 (33.3%) from the field, 3-13 (23.1%) from three, and 4-5 (80.0%) from the free-throw line.
• St. Johns shot 14-35 (40.0%) from the field, 4-12 (33.3%) from three, and 2-5 (40.0%) from the free-throw line.
• Vaaks led the Friars with eight points. Sellers and Jones chipped in with six a piece.
• The Friars held the advantage on the glass, 27-18.
SECOND HALF:
•After St. Johns knocked down a free throw to begin the second half, Mela got Providence its first points of the half on a putback layup (19:29).
• PC then produced multiple stops leading to Sellers knocking down a big triple to cut the St. Johns led to 35-34. Providence then forced St. Johns to call a timeout after the Friars forced a turnover (18:58).
• Mela came up with a steal at halfcourt, and immediately went to the rim, drawing a foul. Mela hit both foul shots, giving the Friars their first lead since it was 2-0. St John's came back with a bucket of its own, but Sellers responded on the other end with a contested jumper to keep Providence ahead, 38-37 (16:26).
• St. Johns produced an 8-0 run, the Friars then got out in transition, finding Jones for an and-one slam. After the made free throw, St Johns led 47-43 (13:53).
• Both sides traded baskets; Mela continued to crash the glass, pulling down an offensive rebound in traffic and converting. Mela got another bucket a few possessions later, getting a floater in the paint to drop. The Red Storm were still in front, 58-52 (8:44).
• Mela went right back to work in the post, knocking down another floater off the window to add to his double figure afternoon. The Friars still trailed, 64-57 (6:48).
• After a St. Johns technical foul, Vaaks hit both foul shots cutting the St. Johns lead to 73-64 (3:17).
• St. Johns pulled away for a 79-69 victory
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Providence shot 22-66 (33.3%) from the field, 5-23 (21.7%) from three, and 20-24 (83.3%) from the free-throw line.
• St. Johns shot 26-68 (38.2%) from the field, 6-21(28.6%) from three, and 21-30 (70.0%) from the free-throw line.
• Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Vaaks (20), Mela (14), Sellers (13) and Jones (12).
• Vaaks scored 20 points on three made three-pointers. It marked his sixth game this season with 20 or more points.
• Providence pulled down 49 rebounds, tying a season-high
• Dylan Darling scored a game-high 23 points for St. Johns.
• The Friars won the rebound battle, 49-31.
• Go Brenda
UP NEXT:
The Friars will return to action when they travel to Chicago to take on DePaul University Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena. Tipoff is set for Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
SJU
PROV
FG%
.382
.333
3FG%
.286
.217
FT%
.700
.833
RB
41
49
TO
5
14
STL
11
3
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
F
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