Completed Event: Men's Basketball at RV/#25 St. John's on January 3, 2026 , Win , 77, to, 71
Men's Basketball
at RV/#25 St. John's
Final
77
-
71
Providence College Athletics
Friday, January 16
Providence, R.I.
6:30 p.m.
Providence College
9-9,2-5Big East
93
vs
88
Creighton
11-8,5-3Big East
1
2
F
Creighton
46
42
88
Providence
45
48
93
Men’s Basketball Defeats Creighton, 93-88
1/16/2026 9:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stefan Vaaks recorded a career-high 24 points, while Oswin Erhunmwunse and Jamier Jones registered a double-double to lead the Friars.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's basketball team defeated the Creighton University Bluejays (11-8, 5-3 BIG EAST), 93-88, on Friday, Jan. 16 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. With the win, Providence improved to 9-9 overall and 2-5 in BIG EAST play. Freshman Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) led the Friars with a career-high 24 points and added seven assists. Freshman Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) (18 points and 11 rebounds) and sophomore Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) (14 points and 13 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles for the Friars.
"Another tough BIG EAST game." Head Coach Kim English said. "I thought our guys had a few good days of work with great attention to detail and focus tonight."
FIRST HALF:
• On the first possession of the game, Stefan Vaaks found Duncan Powell (Dallas, Texas) off a pick-and-pop action to give the Friars the early lead, 3-0 (19:50).
• After Creighton got on the board with a layup and a pair of free-throws, Vaaks found Powell again for another Providence three to make it 6-4, Providence (18:08).
• Providence recorded a steal and got out in transition, resulting in a Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) layup off a feed from Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) (17:23).
• Jones grabbed a steal and threw down an emphatic dunk fast break dunk that gave Providence the 10-9 lead (15:50).
• After strong ball movement, Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) found Mela for a three-pointer to make it 16-14, Creighton (13:37).
• Floyd Jr. stole a Creighton pass that led to a fastbreak and-one dunk to end an 8-0 Creighton ran and pulled the Friars within single digits, 24-17 (11:17).
• Powell connected on his third three-pointer of the night to make it 26-21, Creighton (10:03).
• Mela got in the post and was able to pivot and free himself for a short turn-around jumper to make it 27-23, Creighton (9:16).
• Vaaks connected on his first three-pointer of the night after a Creighton basket to make it 30-26, Creighton (8:43).
• Out of the timeout, Vaaks drove through the lane and was able to convert on a layup (8:01).
• Jones was able to tip in a lob to make it 38-30, Creighton (6:16).
• Jones converted a layup off a tremendous feed from Vaaks to keep the Friars within striking distance and on the following possession, after a Nilivan Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) steal, Vaaks went to the post and connected on a layup after a spin move. Making it 40-34, Creighton (5:17).
• Providence forced a stop that led to a Jones dunk which forced a Creighton timeout and pulled the Friars within four (4:41).
• Back-to-back buckets by Vaaks and Jones put the Friars within two, 42-40 with under three minutes remaining in the half (2:10).
• A strong driving effort from Jones pulled Providence within one with under one minute remaining in the half, bringing a spark to the crowd at the AMP (0:43).
• Creighton led at the half 46-34.
• Providence shot 17-35 (48.6%) from the field, 5-15 (33.3%) from three, and 6-12 (50%) from the free-throw line.
• Creighton shot 14-31 (45.2%) from the field, 5-12 (41.7%) from three, and 13-14 (92.9%) from the free-throw line.
• Jones led the Friars with 13 points on 6-8 shooting
• Vaaks and Powell both chipped in with nine points.
• Jasen Green led the Bluejays with 13 points, going 7-8 from the free-throw line.
SECOND HALF:
• After forcing a tie-up to begin the half, the Friars got on the board first with a Powell free-throw to tie the game at 46 (19:38).
•Providence was able to take the lead the following possession on Mela euro-step layup (19:11).
•Providence was able to go back in front 53-52 when Floyd Jr. connected from inside the lane (16:22).
• Vaaks worked off a screen setting up a lob and slam for Erhunmwunse, to put Providence in front 57-54 (14:29).
• After a Creighton three, a Floyd Jr. block led to a Vaaks run-out layup (14:04).
• Sellers was able to get to the line back-to-back possessions, making four foul shots to give Providence their largest lead at 63-57 (13:16).
• Vaaks came up with a steal at half-court and went to the rim himself, forcing a Bluejay timeout. Providence held a 65-57 lead. (11:44).
• Out of the timeout, the Friars came up with a stop, resulting in a Jones reverse layup on the other end. Providence went on a commanding 10-0 run, leading 67-57 into the under-twelve timeout (11:17).
• First possession out of the timeout, Providence produced another stop and found a cutting Erhunmwunse for a two-hand flush (10:50).
• Daniels collected an offensive rebound and found an open Vaaks for a three that put the Friars ahead 74-64 (8:25).
• After a missed layup Erhunmwunse was on the spot to clean it up, putting the Friars back in front by 10 (6:50).
• Not long after, Erhunmwunse got another offensive rebound and finished the putback. The rebound gave Erhunmwunse a double-double (5:52).
• The Providence lead sat at 81-74 into the under-four timeout (3:37).
•The Friars were able to break the Creighton press when Jones went straight downhill for the bucket and the foul. Jones missed the free throw, but Erhunmwunse came up with another big rebound, resulting in Vaaks making a pair of free throws (0:48).
•Vaaks and Floyd Jr. converted at the line down the stretch to ice the game.
• Providence was able to hold on for a 93-88 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Providence shot 31-69 (44.9%) from the field, 6-25 (24.0%) from three, and 25-35 (71.4%) from the free-throw line.
• Creighton shot 27-66 (40.9%) from the field, 10-30 (33.3%) from three, and 24-29 (82.8%) from the free-throw line.
• Tonight marked the 11th time this season that Providence had five players finish in double figures. Vaaks (24), Jones (18), Mela (14), Erhunmwunse (14), Powell (10).
• Vaaks' 24 points marked a career-high.
• Jamier Jones (18 points and 11 rebounds) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (14 points and 13 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles. It marks the first time that two Providence players have recorded double-doubles in the same game since March 9, 2024, against No. 2/2 Connecticut, when Devin Carter and Josh Oduro accomplished the feat.
• Erhunmwunse (13) and Jones (11) each recorded career-highs in rebounds.
• Vaaks' 24 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.
• Vaaks is also the first BIG EAST freshman with three 20-point games since 2021.
• Jones grabbed a career-high three steals.
•The Friars outrebounded Creighton, 30-15, in the second half, and 46-37 in the game.
• Jasen Green led Creighton with 26 points.
• Providence held the advantage in points in the paint 50-32.
• Providence holds a 22-17 mark all-time versus Creighton.
• Thank Brenda!
UP NEXT:
The Friars will return to action when they travel to Milwaukee to take on Marquette University Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
CU
PROV
FG%
.409
.449
3FG%
.333
.240
FT%
.828
.714
RB
37
46
TO
10
10
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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