PC Basketball Wins 77-65 Over Penn State - Vaaks Hits Big Shots

PC Basketball Wins 77-65 Over Penn State - Vaaks Hits Big Shots

In the second half, it looked like the Friars would win decisively. They led by double-digits. They were running and dunking. Then, PC let Penn State back in the game.

PC’s lead evaporated.

Friars lead 64-61 with a timeout at 4:03

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Then. PC was up just 68-65 with 2:03, and Kim English called a timeout.

And then, freshman Stefan Vaaks saved the day. He hit two consecutive 3-pointers. 

Up until then, Vaaks had been struggling from long distance — he had been just 1 of 8 until then.

Vaaks ended up leading the Friars with 15 points, but 5 of 13 from the field.

 

Other Top Performances

Jayson Edward ended with 14 points, 3-13  from the field and 7-11 from the free throw line.

Oswin Erhunmwunse scored 11 points and had 8 rebounds and four blocks.

The win by the Friars pushes the record to 4-2.

The Friars won the game at Mohegan Sun 77-65.

 

FIRST HALF: 

• The Friars opened the scoring with a fast break layup from Ryan Mela on an assist from Stefan Vaaks. 

• Vaaks recorded his second assist of the game on an inside feed to Oswin Erhunmwunse for a dunk to make it 4-3, Providence (18:38). 

• Erhunmwunse grabbed an offensive rebound and converted an and-one opportunity. On the following possession Mela found Erhunmwunse again for another layup to give the Friars the 9-6 lead (17:13).  

• Out of the first media timeout, a driving effort from Jaylin Sellers extended the Friars' lead, 11-8 (15:39). 

• Jamier Jones connected on his first shot attempt of the game on a dump-down pass from Vaaks (13:19). 

• Jaylen Harrell grabbed two offensive rebounds in a row before converting on a tip-in layup to make it 17-15, Penn State (11:58). 

• Out of the timeout, Vaaks found Sellers for a three-pointer to give Providence the lead, 18-17 (10:47). Vaaks' fourth assist of the game.  

• Mela found the cutting Jones for a baseline dunk to make it 24-20, Penn State (8:14). 

• An offensive rebound and put back by Erhunmwunse cut the Friars' deficit to three, 26-23 (6:17). 

• A pair of Edwards free throws followed by Corey Floyd Jr.'s three-pointer cut the lead to one, 29-28 (4:39).  

• A Mela rebound and outlet pass led to a Sellers fast break dunk to make it 30-29, Providence (3:17). 

• Edwards connected on two free throws to give the Friars the one-point lead going into the half, 32-31.  

• Providence shot 12-32 (37.5%) from the field, 2-14 (14.3%) from three, and 6-8 (75%) from the free-throw line.   

• Penn State shot 9-28 (32.1%) from the field, 4-12 (33.3%) from three, and 9-11 (81.8%) from the free-throw line.    

• Erhunmwunse led the Friars in the first half with nine points.  

• Freddie Dilione V registered 13 points for Penn State. 

• Mela finished with five assists in the first half. Vaaks registered four.  

• Erhunmwunse recorded four rebounds in the first half.  

 

SECOND HALF: 

• The second half began with a 7-0 Providence run that started with a driving layup by Edwards, followed by a steal and fastbreak dunk by Sellers, and then a transition three by Vaaks to give the Friars their largest lead of the night, 39-31 (19:00). 

• Providence extended its lead on a Sellers driving dunk that gave the Friars the first double-digit lead of the night, 41-31 (18:16).  

• Mela converted an and-one opportunity to make it 44-35, Providence (17:15).  

• Edwards connected on a step-back three to extend the Providence lead, 47-36 (16:23).  

• Floyd Jr. found Jones for a fast-break alley-oop, and on the next trip down the floor, Sellers finished another alley-oop from Edwards to put Providence up by 12 (13:56). 

• Jones threw down another driving dunk to make it 55-46, Providence (12:47). 

• Vaaks connected on a driving layup to end a four-minute stretch where the Friars didn't have a field goal. On the next possession, he converted on a pull-up jumper to make it 60-52, Providence (7:51). 

• A strong rebound by Mela led to a fastbreak that ended with an Erhunmwunse put-back dunk to make it 64-57 (5:58).  

• Vaaks grabbed an offensive rebound that led to Floyd Jr. being fouled on a drive and connecting on both free throws to make it 68-63, Providence (2:36).  

• Out of a timeout, Vaaks buried back-to-back threes to push the Friars' lead to 74-65 with under two minutes to play (1:35). He drilled a deep one for the first, then pulled up in transition for the second. 

• Erhunmwunse grabbed an offensive rebound on a Vaaks three-point attempt and converted on a layup to extend the Providence lead, 76-65 (0:50).  

• Edwards converted on the front end of a one-and-one down the stretch to make the final score 77-65.  

 

DATA: 

• Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Vaaks (25),  Edwards (18), Sellers (14) and Erhunmwunse (11)  

• Through six games, the Friars are averaging 93.2 points per game 

• Ryan Mela finished with seven points, nine rebounds and five assists.  

• Stefan Vaaks finished with a career-high five assists. 

• Edwards registered a career high six rebounds.  

• Stefan Vaaks had three three-pointers in the game, marking his sixth game of the season where he has recorded two or more threes. 

• Providence shot 28-69 (40.6%) from the field, 6-33 (18.2%) from three, and 15-19 (78.9%) from the free-throw line.   

• Penn State shot 22-66 (33.3%) from the field, 8-24 (33.3%) from three, and 13-16 (81.3%) from the free-throw line.     

•The Friars have posted a 2-2 mark all-time versus Penn State, with all four games being played at neutral site arenas.  

•The Friars have posted a 40-37 mark all-time versus teams from the Big 10. 

•The Friars have posted a 4-6 record all-time at Mohegan Sun, including a 1-1 mark this season. The PC win ended a 0-6 streak in Mohegan Sun Arena.  

 

NEXT: 

The Friars will travel to San Diego, Calif., to face No. 23 Wisconsin in the Rady's Children Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 27, at Jenny Craig Pavilion.  

Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on FS1.