NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Providence guard Stefan Vaaks scored a career-best 28 points and hit a career-high eight 3-pointers as ninth-seed Friars overcame a 16-point deficit in the first half for a 91-81 victory over eighth-seeded Butler Wednesday in the opening round of the Big East tournament.
Vaaks kept the Friars afloat before their rally and finished 8-of-13 from behind the arc. He joined Marquette’s Matt Carlino (2015) and Boston College’s Dana Barros (1989) as the only players to sink eight 3s in a Big East tournament game.
Vaaks hit his sixth 3 for a 71-61 lead with 8:27 left, then made his seventh for an 82-75 lead at the 2:50 mark about a minute after Butler’s Jamie Kaiser Jr. hit a triple to make it a two-point game.
The freshman made it eight when he drained a triple from the top of the key to make it 87-78 with 96 seconds left to essentially secure the win.
Ryan Mela added a career-high 23 on 10-of-14 shooting and Jaylin Sellers contributed 19 of his 23 in the second half after shooting 2-of-10 in the opening 20 minutes. Mela added nine rebounds and five assists, both team highs.
The Friars (15-17) will face top-seeded St. John’s in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.
Michael Ajyai led Butler (16-16) with 21 points and 11 rebounds but played the final 10-plus minutes with four fouls. Finley Bizjack struggled most of the game, scoring 17 on 5-of-15 shooting.
Providence shot 52.3% after missing eight of its first nine shots. The Friars made 14 of 27 from 3 and outscored Butler 80-54 in the final 29-plus minutes.
It was the second time this season Providence erased a double-digit deficit at Madison Square Garden. On Jan. 3, the Friars charged back from a 13-point deficit in the second half and recorded a 77-71 victory over St. John’s.
Butler ripped off 15 straight for a 15-2 lead on a jumper in the lane by Ajayi with 15:19 left. Butler took a 25-9 lead when Bizjack sank a 3 with 10:55 left to cap an 8-0 run.
Providence countered Butler’s fast start with a 13-2 spurt and Vaaks sank 3s on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 31-27 with 5:13 remaining. Mela’s three-point play forged a 38-38 tie with 99 seconds left, and Butler settled for a 42-40 lead by halftime.
Vaaks hit a 3 for 54-52 lead with 14:26 left, and Sellers hit a 3 40 seconds later to force Butler to use a timeout. Sellers capped Providence’s 12-0 run with a layup for a 61-52 lead with 12:25 left. He connected on a 3 for a 68-58 lead nearly a minute later.
– By Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media