Providence College Athletics

Tuesday, January 13
Providence, R.I.
6:30 p.m.

Providence College

8-9,1-5Big East

82
vs
88

Villanova

14-3,5-1Big East

1
2
F
Villanova
46
42
88
Providence
34
48
82
Jamier Jones Dunks the Ball versus Villanova at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Men’s Basketball Defeated By Villanova, 88-82, At The Amica Mutual Pavillion

1/13/2026 9:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Jaylin Sellers (24), Jamier Jones (23) and Stefan Vaaks (21) each had 21 or more points.


PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's basketball team was defeated by the Villanova University Wildcats (14-3, 5-1 BIG EAST), 88-82, on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at the Amica Mutual Pavillion in Providence, R.I. With the loss, Providence fell to 8-9 overall and 1-5 in BIG EAST play. Graduate student Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) led the Friars with 24 points. The freshman duo of Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) (23) and Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia ) (21) both contributed with strong shooting performances for the Friars.  

FIRST HALF: 

• Jamier Jones opened up the scoring for the Friars after he was fouled on a three-point attempt, he converted all three attempts at the line to make it 3-0, Providence (19:06). 

• Jones connected on the first field goal of the night for the Friars off a driving effort to make it 5-3, Providence (17:41).  

• Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) got physical in the lane before converting on a turnaround jump shot to keep the Friar lead at 2 (16:03).  

• Providence beat the shot clock on a Stefan Vaaks driving layup and followed it up with a Vaaks three on the next possession to tie the game at 12 (13:48). 

• Floyd Jr. found Jones out in transition for a layup to cut into the Villanova lead, 20-14 (11:53).  

Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) recorded his first basket of the night off an alley-oop pass from Vaaks (10:30). 

• Jones continued his hot shooting performance on a crafty move towards to rim to make it 23-18, Villanova (9:19). 

• On the following possession, Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) found Duncan Powell (Dallas, Texas) for a three-pointer to make it 23-21, Villanova heading into a timeout (8:35). 

• Out of the timeout, Powell recorded a steal that led to a Jaylin Sellers layup to cap off a 7-0 Providence run and tie the game at 23 (8:01).  

• After a 10-0 Villanova run, Providence responded with back-to-back buckets by Sellers and Jones to make it 33-27 Villanova with 4:43 remaining in the half.  

• Mela found the rolling Jones for an emphatic dunk through the lane with three minutes remaining in the half (3:03).  

• Powell posted up before finding Sellers for a wide-open three-pointer making it 42-32 (1:56). 

• Vaaks was able to get by his man and finish at the rim to keep the Villanova lead at 10, 44-34 (1:06). 

• Villanova led at the half 46-34. 

• Providence shot 14-25 (56.0%) from the field, 3-9 (33.3%) from three, and 3-3 (100%) from the free-throw line.   

• Villanova shot 18-34 (52.9%) from the field, 6-17 (35.3%) from three, and 4-5 (80.0%) from the free-throw line.    

• Jones led all scorers with 13 points for the Friars on 5-7 shooting 

• Vaaks and Sellers chipped in with seven points. 

• Devin Askew and Malachi Palmer both had ten points for the Wildcats.  

SECOND HALF: 

• The Friars opened the second-half scoring with a Jones transition layup to cut the deficit to ten (18:54).  

• After a Villanova bucket Providence connected for its first three of the half when Cole Hargrove (Norristown, Pa.) pulled down and offensive rebound and found an open Sellers (18:20).  

• A few possessions later Sellers knocked down another three to once again make it a ten-point game at 52-42 (17:05).  

• Ryan Mela got his first points of the game on a floater in the lane; Providence then forced a turnover that resulted in a Sellers break-away slam. The dunk put Sellers up to 17 points on the night.  (14:15).  

• After a Villanova three, Mela used a spin move to get to the rim and finish with his left-hand. The Wildcat lead was trimmed to 11. (13:07) 

• Providence was able to get a stop on defense; Jones took advantage and quickly ran the fast-break for an and-one layup. Villanova held a 63-54 lead into the media-timeout (11:51).  

•  The Friars forced a shot-clock violation; Vaaks then got crafty on his way to the rim to cut the deficit to five (10:17).  

• The first PC possession out of the under-eight media-timeout Sellers connected with Jones for an alley-oop slam. Villanova controlled an eight-point lead (6:52).  

•Sellers pulled down an offensive rebound in traffic and kicked it out to Vaaks for a deep three (5:54).  

•Jones sank two foul shots with under five minutes to play to add on to his impressive night and trim the deficit to ten (4:29).  

•After Vaaks' third three of the game, Floyd found Erhunmwunse to make it a six-point game (1:52).  

•Off a baseline-inbounds play Sellers drilled his fourth three of the game to make it 83-78 (0:42) 

• Villanova was able to pull away for an 88-82 victory.  

HIGHLIGHTS: 

• Providence shot 31-56 (55.4%) from the field, 8-25 (32.0%) from three, and 12-17 (70.6%) from the free-throw line.   

• Villanova shot 32-64 (50.0%) from the field, 10-28 (35.7%) from three, and 14-18 (77.8%) from the free-throw line.     

• The Friars finished with three players in 20 or more points: Sellers (24), Jones (23), and Vaaks (21).  

• The Friars had three players score 20 or more points for the first time since 2/14/23 against No. 18/18 Creighton. Sellers (24), Jones (23) and Vaaks (21) all had 20 or more for Providence.  

• Jones and Vaaks point totals marked the first time in the last 30 years that two freshman each scored 20 or more points in a game for the Friars.  

• Vaaks' 21 point performance marks the first time that a freshman has recorded 20 or more points in two consecutive games since Sharaud Curry in the 2005-06 season.  

• Jones registered a career high of 23 points. That is the most points by a Friar freshman since AJ Reeves scored 24 against Butler in 2019.  

• Devin Askew led Villanova with 20 points off the bench. Tyler Perkins added 15 for the Wildcats.  

• Providence held the advantage in points in the paint 42-38. 

• Providence holds a 44-74 mark all-time versus Villanova.  

UP NEXT: 

The Friars will return to action when they host Creighton University on Friday, Jan. 16. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The game will be televised on FS1.  

-GO FRIARS!-   

Next Event

Creighton

Jan 16 (Fri)

6:30 p.m.
0Days
0Hours
0Minutes
0Seconds

Team Stats

VU
PROV
FG%
.500
.554
3FG%
.357
.320
FT%
.778
.706
RB
34
27
TO
10
13
STL
7
6

Game Leaders

Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1

Players Mentioned

F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball Exhibition vs. Harvard
Saturday, October 25
2018-2019 Men's Basketball Highlight Video
Saturday, April 13