Men’s Basketball Defeats DePaul, 90-72

Gallery: (2-7-2026) MBB vs DaPaul 2/7

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's basketball team defeated the DePaul University Blue Demons (12-12, 4-9 BIG EAST), 90-72, on Saturday, Feb. 7 at The Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. With the win, Providence moves to 11-13 overall and 4-9 in BIG EAST play. Graduate student Jason Edwards (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Friars with 25 points, marking his seventh twenty-point game this season. Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) added 21 points and tied a career-high with four steals. Ryan Mela (Natick Mass.) chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) added a double-double (fourth of the season) with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

"That was some good home cooking." Head Coach Kim English said. "Back-to-back games at home. We had a good week of practice. Just told every guy to give all that he had to get ready and I thought our guys competed."

FIRST HALF:

• On the Friars' first possession, Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) drove baseline and found Oswin Erhunmwunse for a two-handed slam. On the next possession, Jaylin Sellers got going with his first three-pointer of the game to make it 5-0 Friars (18:46).

• Sellers got to his spot again and was able to knock down a free throw line jumper to make it 7-2, Providence (17:33).

• Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) got to the paint and was able to convert on an and-one layup to give him his first three points of the afternoon. 10-7, Friars (16:17).

• The Friars got the ball moving around the perimeter, leading to Ryan Mela finding Sellers in the corner for his second three of the afternoon. On the next possession, Sellers connected on a step-back mid-range jumper to give him 10 early points, and extend the Friars lead, 15-9 (13:03).

• Jason Edwards found his way back into a game for the first time since Jan. 10 and knocked down a mid-range jumper to give the Friars the eight-point lead heading into the under 12-minute media timeout (12:00).

• Out of the timeout, Edwards knocked down a three to give Providence its largest lead of the game, 20-11 (11:48).

• Mela was able to get to the rim on a strong take and convert a heavily contested layup to give Providence the double-digit lead (11:20).

• After a pair of Sellers free-throws, Erhunmwunse gathered a miss and was able to lay it back in. On the following possession, Jones found Erhunmwunse for another easy layup to give Providence a 10-point lead going into the media timeout (7:35).

• Out of the timeout, Erhunmwunse grabbed an offensive rebound and threw it down for a strong put-back dunk to give Providence its largest lead of the game, 30-18 (7:31).

• Erhunmwunse converted another layup, which marked the fourth consecutive Friar field goal from Erhunmwunse. Providence took a 32-18 lead (6:19).

• Edwards knocked down another mid-range jumper to complete an 8-0 Providence scoring run, forcing a DePaul timeout (4:30).

• Providence was able to knock down free throws to extend its lead to 18 with under three minutes remaining before Mela weaved through the paint and finished at the rim to make it 40-22 (2:17).

• With under a minute remaining in the half, Edwards knocked down his second three-pointer of the game, giving him 10 points on the night and extending the Providence lead to 19 points (0:51).

• Providence led at the half, 43-26.

• Providence shot 16-30 (53.3%) from the field, 4-10 (40.0%) from three, and 7-9 (77.8%) from the free-throw line.

• DePaul shot 11-31 (35.5%) from the field, 2-10 (20.0%) from three, and 2-4 (50.0%) from the free-throw line.

• The Friars finished the first half with three players in double figures: Sellers (14), Erhunmwunse (10) and Edwards (10).

• The Friars held the advantage on the glass, 22-13.

• The Friars held the advantage in points in the paint, 18-14.

SECOND HALF:

• After DePaul opened the second half scoring, Providence got a bucket off a push-shot in the lane from Mela. Providence then got a stop with Floyd Jr. converting a shot in the lane, 47-28 (18:22).

• Mela continued his hot start in the half after Edwards found him in the post for an open layup, 51-36 (16:13).

• Out of a timeout Mela netted his fourth bucket of the half on a putback layup. Mela continued to give DePaul trouble on the following possession with another point-blank layup, 55-40 (14:27).

• The Friars forced a DePaul miss from beyond the arc and immediately ran out in transition, finding Edwards for an and-one hoop. The next possession, Vaaks came up with a steal at half-court and went all the way to the rack for a breakaway jam. The offensive outburst continued soon after Jones was set up for a transition dunk. The scoring burst resulted in a 9-0 run and gave the Friars a 62-40 lead into the media timeout (11:53).

• Out of the timeout, DePaul was able to score inside, but Providence came right back with Edwards knocking down his third triple of the game, 65-42 (11:22).

• Sellers continued his impressive shooting performance, connecting from downtown for the third time. After DePaul free throws, Jones ran the fast-break and found Cole Hargrove (Norristown, Pa.) above the rim for an alley-oop slam, 70-49 (9:40)

• Edwards was able to find an opening in the Blue Demon defense and drain another three-pointer that gave the Friars their largest lead at 74-49 (9:05)

• Out of the timeout, the Friars were able to pull down two offensive rebounds and find Vaaks for his first three of the game, 79-53 (6:37).

•Vaaks took two defenders off the dribble, converting on a contested floater in the paint. Providence owned a comfortable 84-61 lead into the media timeout (3:37).

•Edwards still had the hot-hand late in the game, shaking his defender with a crossover for his fifth three of the game, 88-61 (2:56).

•Providence cruised to a 90-72 victory.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Providence shot 33-56 (58.9%) from the field, 9-21 (42.9%) from three, and 15-25(60.0%) from the free-throw line.

• DePaul shot 30-70 (42.9%) from the field, 5-23 (21.7%) from three, and 7-11 (63.6%) from the free-throw line.

• Edwards scored a game-high 25 points. It marked his 7th game this season with 20 or more points in just 17 games played.

• Erhunmwunse registered 13 rebounds, marking his seventh straight game with 10 or more rebounds. He also tallied his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds and added four blocks.

• Sellers tied a career-best in steals with four, while adding 21 points. He's the first Providence player to record 57 points over two games since Josh Oduro in Feb. 2024.

• Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Edwards (25), Sellers (21), Mela (16), Erhunmwunse (10).

• The Friars won the rebound battle, 41-28.

• Go Brenda – good win, two in a row!

UP NEXT:

The Friars will return to action when they travel to the Prudential Center in South Orange, N.J. to take on the Seton Hall University Pirates on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on Peacock.

-GO FRIARS!-

Next Event

Team Stats

Jason Edwards

Jaylin Sellers

Ryan Mela

Oswin Erhunmwunse

Players Mentioned

Jason Edwards

Oswin Erhunmwunse

Cole Hargrove

Jamier Jones

Ryan Mela

Jaylin Sellers

Stefan Vaaks

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Georgetown on January 24, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 81

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #2/#3 Connecticut on January 27, 2026 , Loss , 81, to, 87

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Villanova on January 30, 2026 , Loss , 73, to, 87

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Butler on February 4, 2026 , Win , 97, to, 87 , (2OT)

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus DePaul on February 7, 2026 , Win , 90, to, 72

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Seton Hall on February 11, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus St. John's on February 14, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at DePaul on February 21, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Xavier on February 24, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Creighton on February 28, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.

Providence College Athletics