PROVIDENCE – Jaylin Sellers took charge at the ideal time Wednesday night.
There were more than a few nervous murmurs in the air at Amica Mutual Pavilion while Xavier made its run late in the second half. Filip Borovicanin’s floater off the right side brought the Musketeers closer than they’d been since the opening seven minutes.
Sellers answered with eight of his team-high 27 points, the fuel Providence needed for a finishing kick in this Big East matchup. The Friars pulled away for good and secured a season split with Xavier thanks to a 94-84 victory on Feb. 25.
Sellers buried a stepback 3-pointer out high with 5:34 left to push the Friars back out to a double-digit advantage at 83-73. He followed with a pair of free throws and another 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 3:25 to play. Providence suddenly held a 90-74 lead, and whatever energy the Musketeers hoped to muster into the last couple minutes was effectively drained.
“My teammates were trusting me,” Sellers said. “Coach trusts me. I just made sure that I made the right play, whether that was me making a (3-pointer) or me playing off two feet and kicking it out.”
Providence wins 4th time in 6 games
The Friars have scarred this home crowd with multiple late-game meltdowns to this point in the season – Connecticut here, Marquette on the road and Georgetown here all snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Xavier was bidding to join them when Roddie Anderson III connected on a transition 3-pointer from the right wing and Borovicanin scored over Ryan Mela off the dribble. It was an 80-73 game with 5:57 left, and the Musketeers seemed to have plenty of time remaining in front of 8,069 fans.
“It’s been a season of ups and downs,” Providence coach Kim English said. “New team – a lot of new guys learning and figuring each other out. Obviously some tough losses, but the beauty of those tough losses is there was a lot learned.”
Providence wound up closing out a fourth win in six games and broke a recent Xavier hex that included three straight triumphs here and six in the last seven meetings. Jason Edwards came off the bench with 24 points, Jamier Jones added 19 and Oswin Erhunmwunse collected his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We could not stop them to save our lives,” Xavier coach Richard Pitino said. “They’re a really good offensive team. Kim puts them in really good spots.”
Edwards forced a pair of Xavier timeouts with 3-pointers in the opening half. The second gave Providence its largest lead at 39-16 with 6:07 left. The Friars went the opening 14:39 without a turnover, shot 58.1% overall and headed for the locker room 5-for-9 from deep.
“Just staying together through the ups and the downs,” Sellers said. “I feel like we’re still one of the best teams in the country.”
The Musketeers (13-15, 5-12 Big East) answered with an 8-0 run to make it a bit more manageable into halftime. Borovicanin started and finished it with a pair of layups, the second forcing a Providence timeout with 3:27 to play. Jovan Milicevic ended his team’s 1-for-13 start from 3-point range with a late jumper and the Friars settled for a 47-34 advantage at the break.
“Our guys have not let go of the rope,” English said. “They’re going to continue to learn and get better.”
Friars defense a key factor in the win
Providence (13-15, 6-11) opened the majority of that cushion with an extended stretch of stingy defense. The Musketeers were shut out for 3:39 and went 5:06 between field goals, allowing the Friars to reel off an 11-0 run. It was the exact opposite of the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 10, as Xavier did just about whatever it wanted on offense while posting a 97-84 home victory.
“Just making sure we didn’t let these guys have free shots,” Sellers said. “When we first played them it was like they were playing against a dummy defense.”
Edwards (foot) was listed as questionable pregame but reached double figures in his fifth straight contest. Stefan Vaaks (illness) was absent and missed out for the first time in his debut season, joining Corey Floyd Jr. (hamstring) and Duncan Powell (suspension). Nilavan Daniels earned his first career start in his 21st appearance, and none of the eight Providence players who appeared in the game closed with a negative plus-minus rating.
“It would be great to have our healthy allotment of guys, but our guys are having fun,” English said. “They’re playing hard.
“We’ve got three regular season games left before New York. We get to play in an arena we love.”
XAVIER (84): Filip Borovicanin 7-14 4-4 19, Tre Carroll 7-12 1-2 15, Jovan Milicevic 7-14 0-0 17, Malik Messina-Moore 0-6 2-2 2, All Wright 1-6 0-0 2, Roddie Anderson III 11-15 4-7 27, Anthony Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Isaiah Walker 1-1 0-0 2, Papa N’Diaye 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-68 11-15 84.
PROVIDENCE (94): Jamier Jones 6-15 7-10 19, Oswin Erhunmwunse 4-6 2-2 10, Jaylin Sellers 10-14 3-4 27, Ryan Mela 4-9 1-2 9, Nilavan Daniels 1-2 0-0 3, Jason Edwards 7-14 6-7 24, Cole Hargrove 0-0 0-0 0, Peteris Pinnis 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 33-61 19-25 94.
Halftime – P, 47-34. 3-point FG – X 5-22 (Borovicanin 1-3, Carroll 0-3, Milicevic 3-6, Messina-Moore 0-5, Wright 0-3, Anderson 1-2), P 9-18 (Jones 0-2, Sellers 4-6, Mela 0-1, Daniels 1-2, Edwards 4-7). Rebounds – X 33 (Borovicanin 9), P 34 (Erhunmwunse 10). Assists – X 6 (Carroll 3), P 8 (Edwards 3). Turnovers – X 5 (Anderson 3), P 4 (Erhunmwunse 1, Sellers 1, Edwards 1, Team 1). Blocked shots – X 2 (Carroll 2), P 3 (Erhunmwunse 1, Sellers 1, Hargrove 1). Steals – X 1 (Anderson 1), P 2 (Jones 1, Daniels 1). Attendance – 8,069.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence men’s basketball beats Xavier 94-84 on February 25, 2026.