Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus DePaul on February 7, 2026 , Win , 90, to, 72
Men's Basketball
vs DePaul
Final
90
-
72
Providence College Athletics
Thursday, March 12
New York, N.Y.
12:00 p.m.
Providence College
15-18,7-13Big East
72
vs
85
St. John's
26-6,18-2Big East
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Providence
27
45
72
St. John's (NY)
48
37
85
Men’s Basketball Defeated By St. John’s, 85-72 In The BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals
3/12/2026 3:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stefan Vaaks led the Friars with 23 points and Jaylin Sellers added 21.
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Providence College men's basketball team lost to No. 13/13 St. John's University Red Storm, 85-72, in the Quarterfinals of the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday, March 12, at Madison Square Garden, in New York, N.Y. With the loss, Providence's season ends with a record of 15-18. Freshman Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) led the Friars with 23 points on 5-9 shooting from three. Graduate student Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) added 21 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) contributed with 16 points and four rebounds.
FIRST HALF:
• The Friars went into the first media timeout without recording a point, 9-0, St. John's (15:32).
• After a pair of Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) free throws, Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) knocked down Providence's first field goal on an and-one layup to make it 13-5, St. John's (14:04).
• Mela was able to get to the rim again to cut into the St. John's lead, 20-7 (11:23).
• On the next possession, Sellers was able to work his way to the basket and connect on a layup. On the ensuing play, Sellers got out on the break after a St. John's turnover and laid the ball in to complete a 6-0 Providence run and to make it 20-11, St. John's (10:31).
• Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) got his day started on a driving effort to make it 25-13, St. John's (8:17).
• Mela got downhill again and was able to convert off the glass to cut into the deficit (6:04).
• Mela continued his strong first half performance on a turnaround push shot in the lane to make it 39-21, St. John's (4:45).
• Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) made his first field goal on a heavily contested floater in the lane to cut into the Red Storm lead (4:02).
• Jones was able to get around his man on the baseline and convert on an and-one reverse layup to make it 46-25 (2:20).
• Sellers made a layup with under a minute remaining in the half, 48-27, St. John's (0:57).
• St. John's led at the half, 48-27.
• Providence shot 10-26 (38.5%) from the field, 0-5 (0%) from three, and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free-throw line.
• St. John's shot 19-40 (47.5%) from the field, 5-13 (38.5%) from three, and 5-8 (62.5%) from the free-throw line.
SECOND HALF:
• Sellers opened the second half with a bucket on the first possession. St. John's answered with a second-chance layup and led 50-29 (19:15).
• Sellers and Mela continued to carry the Friar offense, scoring the team's only points through four minutes in the second half (16:27).
• The Friars looked to spark a momentum swing as Vaaks knocked down his first three of the game. It also marked Providence's first three-pointer of the game (15:14).
• Vaaks sank another three-pointer for the Friars, but St. John's matched with a three of their own. Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) and Sellers slammed emphatic dunks as St. John's led 59-46 (13:51).
• Through 10 minutes in the second half, Providence outscored the Red Storm 26-17 on 10-15 shooting from the Field.
• Vaaks sank a deep three-pointer and cut the St. John's lead to 12. The Red Storm responded with a 10-0 run and pushed the lead back out to 75-53 (8:07).
• Vaaks continued to hit from deep as he made his fourth three of the game. With the three, Vaaks broke the all-time record for three-pointers made in two games at the BIG EAST Tournament (7:18).
• Vaaks sank another three for the Friars as the Red Storm led 85-64 (3:52).
• The Friars closed the game on an 11-0 run, but St. John's held onto an 85-72 lead as time expired.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Providence shot 25-56 (44.6%) from the field, 5-14 (35.7%) from three, and 17-25 (68.0%) from the free-throw line.
• St. John's shot 33-77 (42.9%) from the field, 7-27 (25.9%) from three, and 12-17 (70.6%) from the free-throw line.
• Three players finished in double figures for the Friars - Vaaks (23), Sellers (21) and Mela (16).
• Vaaks made five threes in the game. Vaaks made 13 threes through two games in the tournament and broke the record for most three-pointers made in two games in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Vaaks finished the season with 491 points scored. He broke the Providence's single-season freshman scoring record. The record was previously held by LaDonte Henton with 457 points scored in the 2011-12 season.
• Vaaks is the first freshman to score 20 or more points in multiple BIG EAST Tournament games since West Virginia's Devin Evans in 2009.
• Sellers and Vaaks are the first PC players to score 20 points or more in consecutive BIG EAST Tournament games.
*Thanks Brenda!
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
PROV
SJU
FG%
.446
.429
3FG%
.357
.259
FT%
.680
.706
RB
30
51
TO
11
9
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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