Freshman guard Stefan Vaaks scored a team-high 19 points as Providence beat visiting Holy Cross 89-79 in a season-opening battle of New England foes on Monday night.
A native of Estonia, Vaaks hit five field goals, including three from 3-point range, and led five double-figure scorers for Providence, which shot 50% from the field for the game.
Jamier Jones and Jaylin Sellers each scored 10 in the second half as the Friars fended off the visitors’ rally from 20 points down with 9:32 left to within six in the final minute.
Holy Cross’ Tyler Boston led all scorers with 25 points, including three 3-pointers and 10-of-11 free-throw shooting. Aidan Richard pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Providence led 44-27 at intermission, holding the visitors without a bench point (22-0) or a 3-pointer (0-for-11) in the first half. Holy Cross was 11 of 22 from beyond the arc after halftime.
Oswin Erhunmwunse’s two-hand dunk opened the scoring, but after a Boston jumper helped Holy Cross take an 8-6 advantage, the preseason All-Big East big man’s defense sparked a 9-0 Friars run. Erhunmwunse made consecutive blocks to set up a Ryan Mela layup before Vaaks made a coast-to-coast finish.
The Friars took their first double-digit lead with 6:38 left in the half after Corey Floyd Jr.’s turnaround jumper. After the Crusaders clawed back within six, Vaaks sank back-to-back corner treys in a span of 26 seconds to up the hosts’ lead to 14.
Boston’s strong foul shooting stopped a 10-0 Providence run, as he scored six of the final eight Holy Cross points. Vaaks and Duncan Powell closed the first half with four Friar free throws.
Out of the break, Holy Cross used five consecutive makes from long range to hang tough early in the second half. The streak included contributions from five different players, with Gabe Warren opening it 30 seconds in and Boston cutting the deficit back to single digits at 17:02.
Warren also completed a 3-point play just over three minutes later before Providence seized control again during a 13-2 run. Vaaks assisted an Erhunmwunse dunk during that stretch.
A Jones flush gave Providence a 20-point lead midway through the period, but Holy Cross would not go away as it sliced the score to eight after DeAndre Williams and Joe Nugent hit triples by the 3:51 mark.
Two more triples, including one by Williams, brought the Crusaders within 83-77 with 59 seconds left, but the hosts closed on a 6-2 run.
