Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Pitt (Exhibition) on October 19, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 81
Men's Basketball
at Pitt (Exhibition)
Final
74
-
81
Providence College Athletics
Monday, November 3
Providence, R.I.
7:15 p.m.
Providence College
1-0,0-0Big East
89
vs
79
Holy Cross
0-1,0-0Patriot
1
2
F
Holy Cross
27
52
79
Providence
44
45
89
Men’s Basketball Defeats Holy Cross, 89-79, To Open The 2025-26 Regular Season
11/3/2025 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Freshman duo Stefan Vaaks (19) and Jamier Jones (16) led the way for the Friars.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's basketball team defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders, 89-79 in the season opener for both teams on Monday, Nov. 3 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Freshman Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) led the team in scoring with 19 points. Freshman Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) added 16 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field to go with 5 rebounds.
"It's good to be back," Head Coach Kim English said. "First game and there's still a lot of stuff we need to clean up. I'm really proud of our young guys and our bench. That is what a bench is supposed to do. Our bench is supposed to withstand a good start and play well on both sides of the ball."
FIRST HALF:
• The Friars opened the scoring on a two-handed dunk by Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) on a pass from Jason Edwards (Atlanta, Georgia). Holy Cross quickly responded with a transition layup to tie the score at 2.
• Back-to-back driving lay-ups by Edwards and Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) gave the Friars the 6-4 lead, but a 4-0 Holy Cross run gave the Crusaders an 8-6 edge going into the first media timeout (13:41).
• Coming out of the timeout, Erhunmwunse registered two blocks that led to a driving contested layup by Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.). On the ensuing possession, Stefan Vaaks stole a pass and went coast to coast to give the Friars the 10-8 lead with his first career basket.
• Vaaks then converted a three-pointer on a pass from Daquan Davis (Baltimore, Md.) to make it 13-8, forcing Holy Cross to call a timeout (11:22). Providence held Holy Cross scoreless for over 5 minutes during the stretch.
• Jamier Jones registered his first career points off an alley-oop lob from Davis.
• Both teams traded buckets before two free throws by Vaaks made it 21-14 Providence going into the third media timeout (7:35).
• A driving layup by Edawards followed by a turnaround jumper from Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) that gave the Friars their first double digit lead of the night, 25-15 (6:38).
• Back-to-back threes from Vaaks highlighted an 8-0 Friar run that pushed the lead to 14 (33-19) with 4:22 to go in the first half.
• The teams traded points the rest of the way, with Mela and Duncan Powell (Dallas, Texas) contributing for the Friars
• Providence led at the half 44-27
• Vaaks led all scorers with 15 in the first half
• Tyler Boston had 12 points to lead Holy Cross
• The Friars led the rebounding battle 21-20 at the break
• Providence shot 17-36 (47.2%) from the field, 4-16(25.0%) from three, and 6-7 (85.7%) from the free-throw line.
• Holy Cross shot 9-28 (32.1%) from the field, 0-11 (0.0%) from three, and 9-12 (75.0%) from the free-throw line.
SECOND HALF:
• Sellers began the second half on a strong drive and finished at the rim before Holy Cross went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 10 at 46-36 with 17:44 to play.
• Corey Floyd Jr. connected on a three-pointer to reestablish the double-digit lead, 51-39, going into the first media timeout (15:59).
• After the teams traded baskets, Vaaks finished at the rim and converted two free throws to extend the Friars' lead to 11, 58-47 (13:36).
• Following a Erhunmwunse dunk off a Vaaks' pass, Jamier Jones stole the ensuing inbound pass and was fouled, converting both free throws to highlight a 6-0 Friar run going into the second media timeout (11:58).
• Edwards converted on a pull up jumper and then a three-pointer on the following possession to give himself five straight points and Providence an 18-point lead, 67-49 (11:15).
• Jamier Jones followed Edwards' run with a 4-0 scoring run of his own, topping it off with an alley-oop slam on a pass from Erhunmwunse (9:32).
• Sellers connected on a three-pointer off a pass from Erhunmwunse to end a two and a half minute scoring drought to make it 76-64.
• Jamier Jones threw down his second alley-oop dunk of the contest off a pass from Floyd Jr. and then converted on a driving effort to give Providence the 80-70 lead going into the under four-minute media timeout.
• Holy Cross cut the deficit to six with 50 seconds left before Sellers converted an and-one layup to give Providence the eight-point cushion.
• Floyd Jr. and Sellers both made free-throws down the stretch to secure the win for Providence.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Five players finished in double figures for the Friars: Vaaks (19), Jones (16), Floyd Jr. (12), Edwards (11) and Sellers (12).
• Holy Cross guard Tyler Boston led all scorers with 25 points.
• Stefan Vaaks (19) and Jamier Jones (16) are the first pair of Friar freshman to score 16+ points in a game since 1/14/2006, when Sharaud Curry and Weyinmi Efejuku scored 19 and 18 respectively vs. Notre Dame.
• Oswin Erhunmwunse finished with a team high eight rebounds and four blocks.
• Ryan Mela tied his career high with four steals.
• Providence's bench outscored Holy Cross's 44-11, with two in double figures.
• Providence held the rebound advantage, 43-37, and the advantage in assists, 17-13.
• Providence shot 31-62 (50.0%) from the field, 7-26 (26.9%) from three, and 20-27 (74.1%) from the free-throw line.
• Holy Cross shot 27-65 (41.5%) from the field, 11-33 (33.3%) from three, and 14-21 (66.7%) from the free-throw line.
NOTES:
• Attendance: 9,083
• The Friars have registered an 88-11 (.888) mark all-time in regular-season openers.
• The Friars hold a 91-8 (.919) record in home openers.
• The Friars have posted a 44-28 mark all time versus the Crusaders. The Friars are 28-10 at home, 14-13 on the road and 2-5 on neutral courts versus Holy Cross.
• The Friars are 3-0 all-time vs. Holy Cross in season openers.
UP NEXT:
The Friars will travel to Uncasville, Ct. to face Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Tipoff on Saturday Nov. 8 at The Mohegan Sun Arena
Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
HolyCr
PROV
FG%
.415
.500
3FG%
.333
.269
FT%
.667
.741
RB
37
42
TO
13
10
STL
8
11
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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