March 11, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Providence Friars guard Stephen Box (7) drives toward the basket against Butler Bulldogs guard Jamie Kaiser Jr. (7) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images NEW YORK — Stefan Vaaks had a career-high 28 points and a career-high eight 3-pointers as ninth-seeded Providence overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to win 91-81 over eighth-seeded Butler in the opening round of the Big East Tournament on Wednesday.
Vaaks kept the Friars afloat before a rally and finished 8-of-13 from behind the arc. He joined Marquette’s Matt Carlino (2015) as the only players to have eight 3-pointers in a Big East tournament game.
Vaaks hit his sixth 3 for a 71-61 lead with 8:27 left and his seventh for an 82-75 lead at 2:50 about a minute after Butler’s Jamie Kaiser Jr. hit a triple to make it a two-run game.
The freshman drained a triple from the top of the key with 96 seconds left to make it 87-78 and set up eight points, essentially securing the win.
Ryan Mela added a career-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Jaylin Sellers scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half after going 2-of-10 shooting 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 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 for most of the game, scoring 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Providence shot 52.3 percent after missing eight of its first nine shots. The Friars made 14 of 27 shots from three and outshot Butler 80-54 over the final 29-plus minutes.
This is the second time this season that Providence has erased a double-digit deficit at Madison Square Garden. On January 3, the Friars clawed back a 13-point second-half deficit to beat St. Louis. Recorded a 77-71 win over St. John’s.
Butler tacked on 15 straight for a 15-2 lead on a jumper in Ajayi’s lane with 15 minutes, 19 seconds left. Butler went on an 8-0 run to take a 25-9 lead when the Bizjacks hit a 3 with 10:55 left.
Providence countered Butler’s fast start with a 13-2 spurt, and Vaaks scored 3 points on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 31-27 with 5:13 remaining. Mela’s 3-point play tied the game at 38-38 with 99 seconds left and gave Butler a 42-40 lead heading into halftime.
Vaaks hit a 3 for a 54-52 lead with 14 minutes, 26 seconds left, and Sellers hit a 3 40 seconds later to force Butler to use a timeout. Sellers capped a 12-0 run by Providence for a 61-52 lead with 12:25 left. He made it a 68-58 lead nearly a minute later with a three.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
