Friar freshmen outduel St. John’s seniors as PC topples Johnnies at MSG

Jamier Jones’ double-double helped Providence overcome double-digit deficit to upset St. John’s Saturday. (Photo by Providence College Athletics)

NEW YORK — Kim English’s first subtle shoutout after gaining a signature win his Providence team needed this season was directed to an unlikely source.

English, whose Friars had not played since a December 19 home loss to Seton Hall, brought his team into the proverbial lion’s den Saturday, taking on St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. Providence looked like a team coming back from a layoff in the opening minutes, too, spotting St. John’s the first 13 points of the game. But as the battle went on, English — who played for former St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson in college — found inspiration in Curt Cignetti, the Indiana football coach who now has the top-ranked Hoosiers two wins away from an improbable national championship after demolishing Alabama in the Rose Bowl this week.

Prior to its rout of the Crimson Tide in Pasadena, Indiana had not played since winning the Big Ten Conference championship on December 6. Providence’s layoff was only about half as long, but yielded a similar end result after a 14-3 run over the final 3:19 of regulation closed out a 77-71 upset of the Red Storm.

“I thought the start was indicative of our guys having such a long break,” English reflected. “Fifteen days off is tough, but I gained some confidence from that watching Indiana football the other night. They had a month off between games, and what they did, they were so disciplined and so consistent. There were a bunch of swells in the game where we weren’t disciplined and consistent and tough, but I felt like at the end of the game, we really were. The players deserve all the credit for finding a way to win this game.”

While St. John’s had the experience edge on paper between seniors Zuby Ejiofor and former Friar Bryce Hopkins, who faced his former team for the first time Saturday, Providence’s two biggest contributors were a pair of freshmen playing only their third career Big East games. Jamier Jones drew the assignment on Hopkins, finding motivation in guarding the erstwhile Friar, and eventually outplaying him to the tune of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“I took my matchup personal, and I feel like I did great,” Jones said. “I feel like I took him off the boards, I went to go get every rebound, but me and him had to fight for it.”

The revealing insight begged another question, considering neither Jones nor Hopkins had played alongside one another. Why was it personal?

“Him being here last year,” Jones explained. “I feel if he was here this year, I’d feel like I should still play over him, so that’s why I took that matchup (personal).”

What Jones helped start, Stefan Vaaks helped finish, scoring a team-high 16 points. The Estonian marksman had been plagued by a stretch of not getting shots to fall in recent games, but his fortunes changed Saturday. Vaaks scored only one point at halftime as St. John’s rode Ejiofor as far as he could take a struggling offense, but did not miss a shot after the intermission as the Friars slowly chipped away.

“I think I played the same way the first and the second halves,” Vaaks said. “I just didn’t get the shots in the first half, and then in the second half, I think I put my main focus on defense and making shots. And finally, man, after three bad games, I think I had these open shots. I didn’t force anything, and that’s why I made them.”

Jones and Vaaks teamed up for what turned out to be the coup de grâce in the final minutes. After Ian Jackson put St. John’s ahead by one with a pair of free throws, Jones was in the right place at the right time as he was able to corral a Jaylin Sellers miss, then dishing beyond the arc to Vaaks, who found a clean look on the right arc, stepped to his left, and splashed a three that put Providence ahead to stay. 

“Me doing what I do best, and then me finding our best shooter,” Jones said of the go-ahead basket.

Providence (8-6, 1-2 Big East) survived 33 points and 15 rebounds — 11 on the offensive glass — from Ejiofor, who accounted for nearly half the St. John’s offense on an afternoon in which the Red Storm shot 28 percent from the floor. And much like the Indiana football team English cited as a motivator, his own outfit was all about business Saturday. The Friars may not have a gamebreaker in the same vein as Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, but on this day, they recognized the task at hand and delivered.

“One through nine, there’s not much separation on this team,” English said. “We don’t have a go-to guy on this team, the go-to guy is the open man. It’s about us defending as a group, and today, we did. It’s about winning the game. That’s what we talked about all throughout the stretch of this game. I’m happy for the guys.”

“I told the team, we were 7-6 after Seton Hall. The truth is, if we get one defensive rebound at the end of the Virginia Tech game, if we secure the ball at the end of the Butler game, we get one stop on Seton Hall up one with a minute left, we’re 10-3. And if we were 10-3, we would still be the exact same team that struggles to play together at times, that struggles to defend, struggles to rebound. So the onus was on us locking into what we had to do this game. It had nothing to do with storylines. And our guys answered the bell.”