A First Half Vaaks Attack Fuels PC

A First Half Vaaks Attack Fuels PC

Providence College men’s basketball led Holy Cross by 17 points at the break, fueled by freshman Stefan Vaaks, who led the Friars with 15 first-half points.

As GoLocal’s sports analyst Kevin Stacom wrote last April, Vaaks could be a big get for the Friars.

One game does not make a season, but the Estonian sharpshooter had an impressive debut, and his 19 points in 21 minutes was a very good start.

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The Friars won 89-79, but like the exhibition game against Harvard, the Friars looked like they would blow them out, but could never quite shake the Crusaders.

 

Game Report:

FIRST HALF: 

• The Friars opened the scoring on a two-handed dunk by Oswin Erhunmwunse on a pass from Jason Edwards (Atlanta, Georgia). Holy Cross quickly responded with a transition layup to tie the score at 2.  

• Back-to-back driving lay-ups by Edwards and Jaylin Sellers gave the Friars the 6-4 lead, but a 4-0 Holy Cross run gave the Crusaders an 8-6 edge going into the first media timeout (13:41).  

• Coming out of the timeout, Erhunmwunse registered two blocks that led to a driving contested layup by Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.). On the ensuing possession, Stefan Vaaks stole a pass and went coast to coast to give the Friars the 10-8 lead with his first career basket. 

• Vaaks then converted a three-pointer on a pass from Daquan Davis to make it 13-8, forcing Holy Cross to call a timeout (11:22). Providence held Holy Cross scoreless for over 5 minutes during the stretch.  Davis was scoreless for the Friars in the game.

• Jamier Jones registered his first career points off an alley-oop lob from Davis.  

• Both teams traded buckets before two free throws by Vaaks made it 21-14 Providence going into the third media timeout (7:35).  

• A driving layup by Edawards followed by a turnaround jumper from Corey Floyd Jr. that gave the Friars their first double-digit lead of the night, 25-15 (6:38).  

• Back-to-back threes from Vaaks highlighted an 8-0 Friar run that pushed the lead to 14 (33-19) with 4:22 to go in the first half. 

• The teams traded points the rest of the way, with Mela and Duncan Powell contributing for the Friars.  

• Providence led at the half 44-27 

• Vaaks led all scorers with 15 in the first half  

• Tyler Boston had 12 points to lead Holy Cross 

•  The Friars led the rebounding battle 21-20 at the break 

• Providence shot 17-36 (47.2%) from the field, 4-16(25.0%) from three, and 6-7 (85.7%) from the free-throw line.   

• Holy Cross shot 9-28 (32.1%) from the field, 0-11 (0.0%) from three, and 9-12 (75.0%) from the free-throw line.     

 

 

SECOND HALF: 

• Sellers began the second half on a strong drive and finished at the rim before Holy Cross went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 10 at 46-36 with 17:44 to play. 

• Corey Floyd Jr. connected on a three-pointer to reestablish the double-digit lead, 51-39, going into the first media timeout (15:59).  

• After the teams traded baskets, Vaaks finished at the rim and converted two free throws to extend the Friars' lead to 11, 58-47 (13:36). 

• Following a Erhunmwunse dunk off a Vaaks' pass, Jamier Jones stole the ensuing inbound pass and was fouled, converting both free throws to highlight a 6-0 Friar run going into the second media timeout (11:58).  

• Edwards converted on a pull up jumper and then a three-pointer on the following possession to give himself five straight points and Providence an 18-point lead, 67-49 (11:15).  

• Jamier Jones followed Edwards' run with a 4-0 scoring run of his own, topping it off with an alley-oop slam on a pass from Erhunmwunse (9:32). 

• Sellers connected on a three-pointer off a pass from Erhunmwunse to end a two and a half minute scoring drought to make it 76-64.  

• Jamier Jones threw down his second alley-oop dunk of the contest off a pass from Floyd Jr. and then converted on a driving effort to give Providence the 80-70 lead going into the under four-minute media timeout.  

• Holy Cross cut the deficit to six with 50 seconds left before Sellers converted an and-one layup to give Providence the eight-point cushion.  

• Floyd Jr. and Sellers both made free-throws down the stretch to secure the win for Providence.  

 

DATA: 

• Five players finished in double figures for the Friars: Vaaks (19), Jones (16), Floyd Jr. (12), Edwards (11) and Sellers (12). 

• Holy Cross guard Tyler Boston led all scorers with 25 points. 

• Stefan Vaaks (19) and Jamier Jones (16) are the first pair of Friar freshmen to score 16+ points in a game since 1/14/2006, when Sharaud Curry and Weyinmi Efejuku scored 19 and 18, respectively, vs. Notre Dame.  

• Oswin Erhunmwunse finished with a team-high eight rebounds and four blocks.  

• Ryan Mela tied his career high with four steals. 

• Providence's bench outscored Holy Cross's 44-11, with two in double figures.  

• Providence held the rebound advantage, 43-37, and the advantage in assists, 17-13.  

• Providence shot 31-62 (50.0%) from the field, 7-26 (26.9%) from three, and 20-27 (74.1%) from the free-throw line.   

• Holy Cross shot 27-65 (41.5%) from the field, 11-33 (33.3%) from three, and 14-21 (66.7%) from the free-throw line.     

 

 

NOTES: 

• Attendance: 9,083 

• The Friars have registered an 88-11 (.888) mark all-time in regular-season openers. 

• The Friars hold a 91-8 (.919) record in home openers.   

• The Friars have posted a 44-28 mark all-time versus the Crusaders. The Friars are 28-10 at home, 14-13 on the road and 2-5 on neutral courts versus Holy Cross.  

• The Friars are 3-0 all-time vs. Holy Cross in season openers.  

 

NEXT: 

The Friars will travel to Uncasville, CT, to face Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Tipoff on Saturday, Nov. 8, at The Mohegan Sun Arena. That game will have limited TV availability as it is only on Peacock. That streaming service has just 41 million subscribers.