Jason Edwards returned from a seven-game injury absence to score a game-high 25 points and lead Providence to a 90-72 Big East win over visiting DePaul on Saturday afternoon.

Edwards shot 8 of 13 overall, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and added four rebounds and two assists in just 24 minutes as the Friars never trailed.

Jaylin Sellers added 21 points, Ryan Mela posted 16 points and eight rebounds and Oswin Erhunmwunse stacked up 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks for Providence (11-13, 4-9), which has won back-to-back Big East games for the first time this season.

Providence’s conference-best offense clicked at 58.9%, including 65.4% after intermission, as the hosts cruised to a 17-point halftime lead.

Brandon Maclin scored 17 points to lead three double-figure scorers for DePaul (12-12, 4-9), which has lost four straight. Kaleb Banks had 11 points and N.J. Benson 10 with seven boards.

Erhunmwunse’s dunk and Sellers’ 3-pointer helped Providence start with a 5-0 lead, but CJ Gunn opened DePaul’s scoring with a midrange jumper and capped a 7-2 run with a game-tying 3-pointer in transition at the 16:29 mark.

That would be the only tie of the game as the Friars held the Blue Demons to one field goal over the next six minutes while building their lead to double digits. Jamier Jones started the 10-2 spree with a 3-point play, then Sellers followed with a 3-pointer and a stepback jumper.

Benson’s alley-oop dunk finished a quick 5-0 DePaul burst to close within 22-16 with 9:07 left, but that inspired another big Providence run. Erhunmwunse scored eight straight, including flying in for a putback dunk and finishing an Edwards assist through traffic, to seize a 38-20 lead with 3:10 to go.

After falling behind 43-26 at the break, DePaul scored on its first six possessions of the second half — including eight points by Maclin. However, that only trimmed Providence’s lead to 51-38 as the Friars kept rolling, too.

Stefan Vaaks and Jones flushed back-to-back dunks to cap a 9-0 Friars run in just 2:02 that upped their lead to 62-40 with 12:25 to go. Providence led by as much as 27 before DePaul closed on a 11-2 run.

–Field Level Media

Xzayvier Brown scored 20 points and Oklahoma led from start to finish and eventually held on for a 92-91 road win at No. 15 Vanderbilt in Southeastern Conference play at Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday afternoon.

The Sooners (12-12, 2-9 SEC) shot 53.4% from the floor and snapped a nine-game losing streak.

Brown canned a pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds left that turned out to be crucial when Tyler Tanner (37 points, nine assists) banked in a 3 at the buzzer for the Commodores.

The Sooners received 17 points from Nigel Pack and 14 from Tae Davis.

Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4) got 18 points from Tyler Nickel and 13 from AK Okereke.

Vanderbilt shot 47.4% from the field.

Brown hit a lay-up off a Derrion Reid steal to put the lead over 20 (61-40) for the first time with 15:47 to play.

The Sooners milked the shot clock inside 10 seconds for much of the remainder of the game until it nearly backfired. They led 80-59 with 4:59 left until Tanner, who had 26 in the second half, led a furious comeback.

Oklahoma took a 48-34 halftime lead thanks to 58.6% to 38.5% edge in shooting as well as advantages in turnovers (8-6) edge in turnovers and rebounding (18-13).

Davis hit his first five shots and scored 14 points as part of the Sooners’ 24-8 lead in the game’s first 7:21. Oklahoma connected on 9 of its first 13 shots, four of them 3s.

Vanderbilt clawed within 33-27, but the Sooners put together a 9-2 run to go up 42-29 after Jones canned a corner 3, drew a third foul on Mike James and then hit the ensuing free throw.

Tanner played with his right (shooting) thumb taped in the second half. He was the only one of Vanderbilt’s point guards to play on Saturday as Duke Miles (16.6 ppg) and Frankie Collins (7.8) were both out again with injuries.

It was a Quad 3 loss for Vanderbilt, which hadn’t lost outside Quad 1 this season.

–Field Level Media

Tari Eason scored a season-high 26 points and Alperen Sengun recorded a triple-double to help the Houston Rockets to a 112-106 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Rockets, while the Thunder have dropped back-to-back contests.

With Houston leading by four after Eason’s tip-in with 1:36 remaining, Reed Sheppard reached around Chet Holmgren under the basket to steal Alex Caruso’s pass, and Kevin Durant hit a key pullup jumper.

Eason added a pair of key offensive rebounds over the final two minutes to help the Rockets hold off Oklahoma City.

Sengun, who had been shooting just 35.2% over his last six games, finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Jabari Smith Jr. added 22 points and Kevin Durant had 20 points on a season-low 10 shots.

After trailing by 15 in the first half, the Rockets came back to tie it early in the third quarter before a 7-0 run put the Thunder back in front.

Houston went on a 24-11 run over the final 7:40 of the quarter to take the lead.

Oklahoma City didn’t hit a field goal over the final five minutes of the quarter.

The Rockets led by nine early in the fourth, but the Thunder battled back thanks to seven consecutive Cason Wallace points.

Oklahoma City tied it on Isaiah Joe’s steal and reverse layup with 7:02 remaining.

Wallace led the Thunder, who were playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the second consecutive game, with 23 points.

Joe added 21 off the bench.

The Thunder jumped out to a big lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 21-6 over the first eight minutes of the quarter to take a 49-34 lead.

After the Rockets hit their first four 3-pointers to start the game, they made just one of their next 12.

Houston was just 2 for 10 from the field to start the second.

But the Rockets trimmed the deficit to six by halftime and nearly cut it even further as Eason’s 33-footer narrowly missed going in at the buzzer.

Jared McCain, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia at the deadline, made his Oklahoma City debut, finishing with five points in nearly 14 minutes.

–Field Level Media