Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Seton Hall on December 19, 2025 , Loss , 67, to, 72

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!-