Stefan Vaaks buried four 3-pointers in a row on his way to 18 points, Jamier Jones scored 18 on perfect 7-for-7 shooting and host Providence took down rival Rhode Island 90-71 in an entertaining Saturday battle.
Providence (6-4) recovered from a 14-2 deficit thanks to Vaaks’ shooting prowess, as the Estonian made his season-high five 3-pointers all in the first half.
Jaylin Sellers added 14 points and 10 rebounds, Jason Edwards scored 13 and Oswin Erhunmwunse tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
Jonah Hinton tied a career high with seven 3-pointers on 14 attempts and led Rhode Island (7-3) with 23 points.
Myles Corey scored 15 points and Jahmere Tripp 12 as the Rams squandered their opportunity to win at Providence for the first time since 2002.
Both teams finished with identical 14-for-29 marks from 3-point land (48.3%), but Providence made a whopping 57.4% from the field.
The Rams hung with the Friars throughout the first six minutes of the second half, and Drissa Traore’s 3-pointer at the 13:50 mark gave the visitors their first lead of the half at 53-52.
Providence answered with a game-deciding 12-point run that featured buckets by Sellers, Jones and Erhunmwunse, with Jones cashing in a triple. Then Rhode Island lost Jones near the baseline while Vaaks dribbled on the right elbow and Vaaks tossed it up to Jones for a vicious alley-oop dunk.
Erhunmwunse’s three-point play capped the run and made it 65-53 with 9:14 to go. During the Rams’ drought, they missed seven straight shots and lost two turnovers.
Corey converted a three-point play for Rhode Island to scrape within 68-58 with 7:04 to go, but Powell and Edwards splashed 3-pointers to put the game away.
Rhode Island hit four of its first five 3-point tries in its game-opening run, two contributed by Hinton. Vaaks quickly erased the 12-point margin by hitting four straight triples in less than a 100-second span, the game-tying bucket coming on a fast break.
A 3-pointer from Sellers allowed Providence to take its first lead, and the Friars went up as many as 28-19 with 8:19 left in the half after consecutive dunks by Erhunmwunse and Jones.
Rhode Island scored 13 of the next 15 points to set up a back-and-forth end to the half. Hinton put the Rams ahead 32-30 with another triple, but Vaaks tied the game on a steal and dunk. Triples by Sellers, Vaaks and Corey Floyd Jr. in the final 2:39 let Providence grab a 41-37 halftime edge.
