PC Falls to Last Place Xavier

PC Falls to Last Place Xavier

If the hope was that the Providence College men’s basketball team would build on its near upset of #4 UConn on Wednesday, it did not happen.

The Friars traveled to Xavier on Saturday and struggled with their defense and their 3-point shooting. The Friars shot 25% from behind the 3-point line. 

Xavier was just 1-4 in the Big East and 9-7 coming into the game. 

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The Musketeers won 97-84 in their first year Xavier coach is Richard Pitino.

PC now falls to 8-8 and 1-4 in the Big East.

Xavier led 44-35 at halftime.

Their lead expanded to 15 at the 17:30 mark

It continued throughout the second half.

Xavier’s Jovan Milicevic tortured the Friars in the second half — he finished with 22 points and shot 8-12 from the field and 4-5 from behind the 3-point line before he fouled out.

And, it was a balanced attack for Xavier as Malik Messina-Moore scored 23 points. Tre Carroll added 18. Almost all the points were on backing his defender down to the hoop for layups. He shot 8-13 from the field.

At the under-4-minute timeout, Xavier led 91-74, and it wasn’t that close.

The Friars were led by Stefan Vaaks with 21.

 

FIRST HALF:
• Providence won the tip and Jaylin Sellers converted on the first field goal attempt of the game to give the Friars a 2-0 lead (19:31). 
• After a 7-0 Xavier run, Corey Floyd Jr. drove and found Jason Edwards (Atlanta, Ga.) for a corner three-pointer (17:26). 
• Sellers came off a screen and knocked down a mid-range jumper to make it 11-7, Xavier (16:31). 
• Stefan Vaaks got out in transition and earned a trip to the free-throw line, converting on both attempts to make it 17-9, Xavier (12:12).  
• On the next possession, Floyd Jr. found Vaaks for a three-pointer and made it 17-12 (11:47).  
• Edwards found Duncan Powell out of a pick-and-pop action for a top of the key three-pointer and cut the lead to 22-15, Xavier (9:36). 
• After two Edwards free throws, the Friars got out in transition and converted on a three-point attempt from Vaaks off of a leave pass from Edwards and made it 24-20, Xavier (8:36). 
• Powell got the defense off its feet with a pump fake before driving to the basket and converting a contested layup (7:44).  
• Oswin Erhunmwunse grabbed an offensive rebound and was able to finish at the rim for his first points of the night. Xavier led 28-24(6:34). 
• Erhunmwunse found Edwards on a give-and-go as Providence trailed 30-26 (5:46).  
• Ryan Mela connected on a floater on a driving effort with under three minutes remaining in the half. On the next possession, Edwards converted on a jumper as Xavier held a 36-30 advantage.  
• Vaaks drove to the hoop following a Xavier basket as the Musketeers led by 10. Floyd Jr. cut to the hoop and was found by Vaaks for a dunk to pull Providence within 10, 44-34 (0:55).  
• Xavier led at the half 44-35. 
• Providence shot 13-35 (37.1%) from the field, 4-18 (22.2%) from three, and 5-7 (71.4%) from the free-throw line.   
• Xavier shot 15-37 (40.5%) from the field, 6-16 (35.3%) from three, and 8-10 (80.0%) from the free-throw line.    
• Vaaks led the Friars with 10 points on 3-6 shooting 
• Edwards chipped in with nine points. 
• Malik  Messina-Moore led Xavier with 14 points 
• Seven different Friars registered points in the first half.  

SECOND HALF:
• As the Musketeers found an early rhythm to open the second half, they went on an 8-3 run that extended their lead to 52-38 before a Providence timeout (18:32). 
• Xavier continued to hold the momentum, making back-to-back threes. Mela responded with four straight points for the Friars. Xavier led 64-50 at the under-16 media timeout (13:56). 
• Out of the timeout, Xavier scored on a fast break layup as the Musketeers took an 18-point lead at 68-50 (12:41). 
• Cole Hargrove (Norristown, Pa.) responded as he scored four straight points for the Friars, leading into the under-12 media timeout. Providence trailed 70-54 (11:22).  
• The game pace picked up as Sellers slammed a transition dunk. Xavier went back down the floor with a transition layup of their own and took a game-high 19-point lead (79-60) with eight minutes remaining.  
• Vaaks looked to give the Friars a spark as he scored four straight points. As the teams traded buckets, Xavier sank a three and pushed its lead to 21 (5:06).  
• With one minute remaining, Edwards made his second three-pointer of the game. Providence trailed by 14-points as the Musketeers held a 95-81 lead (1:01).  
• Xavier held a 97-84 advantage after 40 minutes of action.  
 

 

NEXT:

The Friars host Villanova on Tuesday.

This story was first published 1/10/26 6:13 PM