Stefan Vaaks had a team-high 24 points and a game-high seven assists, Jamier Jones added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Oswin Erhunmwunse posted his fourth career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds as Providence turned back visiting Creighton 93-88.
With the Big East’s leading scorer, Jason Edwards, out for the second straight game, and Jaylin Sellers suffering through his worst offensive performance of the season, the Friars relied on their youth.
Ryan Mela had 14 points, and Duncan Powell stepped into the starting lineup and had 10 points and seven rebounds for Providence (9-9, 2-5 Big East), which ended a three-game losing streak. The Friars had lost 5 of 6 overall.
Jasen Green scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bluejays (11-8, 5-3). Creighton led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but Providence closed on a 15-6 run to get within one at the break.
However, the team saved its best run for the second half. Tied at 57, the Friars scored 14 unanswered points in less than four minutes to take control of the game. Vaaks had a jumper and a layup, and Erhunmwunse punctuated the stretch with two thunderous dunks.
The sophomore from Nigeria scored 12 of his 14 points after the break. His contributions helped make up for Edwards’ absence and Sellers’ off night. Sellers was 0-for-7 from the field and scored just four points, well short of his 15.9 points per game average entering the game.
Sellers wasn’t the only one who struggled from the field. Austin Swartz scored a career-high 33 on 75% shooting (12 of 16) from the field, including 8-for-12 from 3-point land last time out. It was a much different story on Friday, as Swartz made just 1 of 13 field goal attempts and went 0 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Swartz had been averaging 18.1 points a game since entering the starting lineup, but he was held to six against Providence.
Josh Dix had 17 points for Creighton. His long 3-pointer with seven seconds left got the Bluejays within three. Vaaks, who was just 2-for-10 on 3-point attempts, was clutch down the stretch from the charity stripe. He made all six of his free throws in the game’s final 48 seconds to secure the win for Providence.
Blake Harper added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Creighton, while Nik Graves chipped in with 13 points for the Bluejays.
–Field Level Media
