Friars Roll Past FDU Behind Edwards, Sellers and Vaaks’ First Career Double-Double

Back home after a challenging west-coast swing, the Providence Friars returned to the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Tuesday night and delivered one of their most complete performances of the young season, routing Fairleigh Dickinson, 94–64. Graduate guard Jason Edwards led the charge with 24 points, while fellow graduate guard Jaylin Sellers added 21. But the story of the night belonged to freshman Stefan Vaaks, who notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in a breakout performance.

Head Coach Kim English praised his group’s response after a difficult road trip. “Good to be back home after a rough trip out west,” English said. “We had a good couple of days of work. I thought our guys came out really well and responded to some key areas that we focused on.”

The Friars (now averaging an eye-popping 90.4 points per game) wasted no time asserting control. Sellers opened the scoring with a three-pointer on the game’s first possession, and Providence quickly turned defense into offense—an Erhunmwunse block and a Floyd Jr. deflection led to a shot-clock violation, followed by another Friar three to make it 6–0. Vaaks dictated the tempo early, assisting on three of the team’s first four field goals, including a pair of feeds to big man Oswin Erhunmwunse.

A deep three from Vaaks ignited an 8–0 run that ballooned the Friars’ lead to 20–5 before the first media timeout. Providence’s hot shooting never cooled; they opened the game 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and 7-for-9 from the field. Sellers piled on with a barrage of threes—five in the first half alone, tying his career high—and Edwards found freshman Jamier Jones for an alley-oop that electrified the arena.

By the under-12 media timeout, the Friars led 24–7. Their advantage stretched to 20 points moments later, and an 23–4 run put them firmly in control. Providence closed the half on an 8-for-8 shooting stretch and entered the locker room leading 52–21, their best defensive half of the season and the fewest points they’ve allowed in a first half since December 2023.

The Friars shot 57.1% from the field and 62.5% from three in the opening 20 minutes, while FDU struggled to find any rhythm against Providence’s length and physicality.

Sellers opened the second half with a smooth midrange jumper, and from there the Friars continued to dominate. Erhunmwunse controlled the paint with a pair of blocks and a steal in the early minutes, eventually finishing with six blocks—bringing his season total to a BIG EAST-leading 30. Edwards and Floyd Jr. added back-to-back threes to expand the lead, and another Edwards triple forced an FDU timeout midway through the half.

Vaaks kept his foot on the gas, threading passes through tight windows and finding cutters with ease. His tenth assist came on an alley-oop to Floyd Jr., and minutes later he hit a driving layup to secure the 10-point, 10-assist double-double—the program’s first points-and-assists double-double since Jared Bynum in 2022.

Late threes from Jack Williams, who scored his first career points, and strong bench minutes from the Friars helped close out an 8–0 run to end the game.

Providence finished shooting 58.3% from the field and 55.6% from three, with four players in double figures and a season-high 28 assists. The win also pushed the Friars to 5–1 all-time against FDU and 33–6 against NEC opponents.

The Friars return to action on Saturday at noon, hosting in-state rival Rhode Island on truTV.