Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #17/#17 St. John's on February 14, 2026 , Loss , 69, to, 79
Men's Basketball
vs #17/#17 St. John's
Final
69
-
79
Providence College Athletics
Wednesday, March 11
New York, N.Y.
4:00 p.m.
Providence College
15-17,7-13Big East
91
vs
81
Butler
16-16,7-13Big East
1
2
F
Providence
40
51
91
Butler
42
39
81
Men’s Basketball Defeats Butler, 91-81, In Opening Round Of BIG EAST Tourney
3/11/2026 7:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Friars advance to face St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament tomorrow at noon.
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Providence College men's basketball team defeated the Butler University Bulldogs, 78-56, in the first round of the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament on Wednesday, March 11, at Madison Square Garden, in New York, N.Y. With the win, Providence advances to take on top overall seed St. John's on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. in the BIG EAST Tournament-quarterfinals. Freshman Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) led the Friars with a career high 28 points on 8-13 shooting from three. Graduate student Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) and sophomore Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) both added 23 points for the Friars.
FIRST HALF:
• The Friars controlled the opening tip and converted on their first possession when Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) was able to finish at the rim to give Providence the early 2-0 lead (19:45).
• After a 15-0 Butler run, Stefan Vaaks was able to pull up and hit a three pointer to make it 15-5 (15:02)
• The Friars were able to get out in transition and Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) was able to find Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) for a two-handed dunk to cut into the Butler lead further.
• Jones got by his man and finished at the rim on a contested layup to make it 19-9, Butler (13:01).
• Jones got to the rim again and finished on a crafty reverse layup to cut into the deficit. On the following possession, Vaaks connected on another three-pointer to make it 27-14 (9:44).
• Out of the timeout, Nilavan Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) knocked down a straight-away three to pull Providence within 10 (7:19).
• Sellers was able to get two feet in the lane and connect on a skilled floater to make it 29-21 with just over six minutes remaining.
• Vaaks knocked down another three-pointer to cap off a 7-0 Providence run and to pull the Friars within five, 29-24 (5:47).
• Vaaks was able to connect on his fourth three-pointer of the night after Butler knocked down a pair of free throws. 31-27, Butler (5:13).
• Vaaks continued his hot shooting performance on the next possession when he drove to the rim and connected on a right-handed layup to keep the Friars within striking distance (4:37).
• Mela was able to get by his man and finish on a floater in the lane to make it 36-31, Butler (3:34).
• Out of a timeout, Sellers recorded a steal and found a streaking Mela for a two-hand slam dunk on a fast break to pull Providence within one possession. On the next possession, Mela got to the rim and converted on and-one layup, knocking down a free throw, to tie the game at 38 (1:39).
• Mela knocked down a turnaround jumper on the baseline to make it 42-40, Butler with under thirty seconds remaining in the half (0:16).
• Butler led at the half, 42-40.
• Providence shot 16-35 (45.78%) from the field, 5-12 (41.7%) from three, and 3-5 (60%) from the free-throw line.
• Butler shot 16-30 (53.3%) from the field, 1-6 (16.7%) from three, and 9-10 (90.0%) from the free-throw line.
• Vaaks led the Friars with 14 points on 4-6 shooting from three.
• Mela added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in the first half.
SECOND HALF:
• Jones opened up the scoring in the second half for the Friars on a spin move to the basket for two (19:38).
• Mela sank his first three-pointer of the contest as Providence trailed by three. As the teams traded buckets, Erhunmwunse made back-to-back layups and cut Butler's lead to one at 50-49 (16:57).
• Vaaks sank his fifth three-pointer and gave Providence its first lead of the game since the team led 2-0 15 seconds into the game. Sellers followed with a trey as Providence went on an 8-0 scoring run took a 57-52 lead (13:37).
• Sellers got out in the fast break and scored, which capped Providence's run at 12-0 as the team led 61-52 (12:25).
• Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Providence outscored Butler 28-16 and held a 68-58 lead. The Friars went 4-8 from three-point range in the stretch.
• Sellers sank a deep three-pointer and gave the Friars a 10-point lead, marking their largest lead of the game (9:03).
• Vaaks continued to hit from behind the mark, as he knocked down his sixth three of the game. Butler matched, but Mela sank a three as Providence led 74-64 (7:26).
• Butler responded with a 7-0 run and cut the deficit to four. Sellers answered with his third three of the game as Providence led 77-70 (4:52).
• Butler continued to cut into Providence's lead as they sank a three that cut the deficit to two. Sellers responded again with a layup that pushed the teams lead back out to 79-75 (3:24).
• Vaaks drained a step-back three that gave Providence a seven-point lead with just under three minutes remaining. Butler made a pair of free throws, but Mela responded with a put-back, giving Providence an 84-72 lead (2:05).
• Vaaks sank his eighth three-pointer of the game that gave the Friars a 87-78 lead with 1:36 remaining. The three marked a BIG EAST record for most threes made in a BIG EAST Tournament game.
• The Friars picked up the defensive intensity, holding Butler scoreless from the field for over three minutes. Providence led 88-78 with 49 seconds remaining.
• Providence dribbled out the clock with a 91-81 lead and advanced to face St. Johns's in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Providence shot 34-65 (52.3%) from the field, 14-27 (51.9%) from three, and 9-13 (69.2%) from the free-throw line.
• Butler shot 30-65 (46.2%) from the field, 5-17 (29.4%) from three, and 16-21 (76.2%) from the free-throw line.
• Four players finished in double figures for the Friars - Vaaks (28), Mela (23), Sellers (21) and Jones (10).
• Vaaks, Mela and Sellers each finished with over 20 points. It marked the first time that three Providence College players finished with 20 or more points in a BIG EAST Tournament game.
• Vaaks made a career-high eight threes. It tied the record for most threes made in a BIG EAST Tournament game. Boston College's Dana Barros previously made eight threes in 1989.
• Vaaks' eight made threes also marked the most made by a Providence College player in a BIG EAST Tournament game. Vincent Council previously made six in 2011.
• Vaaks set scored a game-high 28 points, marking a new career-high. He previously scored 26 points at Marquette on Jan. 19.
• Mela recorded a career-high 23 points in addition to recording nine rebounds and five assists.
• Providence is the first team to have three players with 22+ points in the same BIG EAST Tournament game since Syracuse had three (Jonny Flynn, Eric Devedorf and Paul Harris) vs. UConn on March 12, 2009 in a six overtime classic.
• Providence overcame a 16-point comeback, marking the Friars' largest comeback win of the season. Providence previously overcame a 13-point deficit at St. John's on Jan. 3. Both of Providence's largest come-from-behind wins occurred at Madison Square Garden.
• Providence shot 52% from three-point range. It marked the highest three-point percentage for the Friars in a BIG EAST Tournament game.
• The Friars won the battle on the glass, 37-33. The Friars also led the assist battle, 21-16.
• Michael Ajayi finished with 21 points for Butler.
• Go Brenda!
UP NEXT: The Friars will return to action tomorrow at Madison Square Garden where they will face off against top seeded St. John's at 12:00 p.m. in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
PROV
Butler
FG%
.523
.462
3FG%
.519
.294
FT%
.692
.762
RB
37
33
TO
9
8
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
9
3FGM
8
FTM
2
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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