By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
Bishop Hendricken usually has a lot going for it, no matter what the sport.
The Warwick, R.I., school has produced standout athletes such as Steve Furness (a 10-year veteran in the NFL in the 1970s), one-time NHL players Rob Gaudreau, Steve King and Dave Emma, and present Tampa Bay Devil Rays center fielder Rocco Baldelli. The latter even maintains a web site to help raise money for the school.
But no amount of money and no illustrious alumni list could help the Bishop Hendricken boys basketball team last week in the Catholic Division final of the BABC Classic in Chelsea, Mass.
In an ending that continues to be debated and discussed, top-ranked Hendricken lost for the first time this season, 65-64 in overtime, as Archbishop Williams' Ricky Titus hit a controversial 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team the championship.
Hendricken (6-1) had apparently won the game - and the prestigious tournament championship - with 2.9 seconds remaining in the OT period, when 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Billy Baron hit three free throws, giving the Hawks a 64-62 lead.
But Archbishop Williams, ranked 10th in Eastern Mass, responded immediately as Kevin Walsh was able to throw a long lead pass up the left sideline for Titus, who nailed his game-winning shot to beat the buzzer.
Or did he?
Not only were 2.9 seconds not a lot of time to get the ball up court for a shot, Titus' game-winner from the left wing was actually his second attempt in the abbreviated sequence. He had his first shot blocked.
An audio/visual replay of the ending, posted by Boston.com, suggested that maybe Titus did not get the second shot off in time. There was also the debate as to whether or not Titus was fully behind the 3-point arc on his second try.
An online poll conducted by Boston.com indicated that viewers were roughly divided down the middle as to whether the shot should have counted.
In any event, Hendricken's first loss of the season proved to be a classic as the Hawks rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit behind the shooting of 6-foot-4 senior forward Dave Rufful (game-high 24 points). Rufful's 3-pointer from the right wing with 6.8 seconds remaining tied the game at 54, forcing overtime.
A 3-pointer by Titus gave Williams a quick lead in the extra session, but Hendricken rallied once again. There would be seven lead changes in all during the overtime.
Hendricken trailed by 62-61, when the sophomore guard Baron was fouled by Lambros Papalambros while attempting a 3-pointer from the corner. Baron sank all three free throws for a 64-62 advantage with 2.9 seconds remaining in OT, only to see his effort go for naught.
Hendricken, which beat Springfield Cathedral to reach the BABC final, returned to Rhode Island Division I play on Jan. 3 with a game against Central of Providence.
Tolman Completes Sweep of City Rival
Tolman High beat Pawtucket city rival Shea for the second time this season, scoring a 65-49 win to open the New Year on Tuesday as Edson Veloso scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half and also had six rebounds and three assists.
Tolman (2-0 in RIIL Division II North play) broke open a close game with a 20-9 run to open the second half.
"Edson had a great game," Tolman coach Greg Barker told the Providence Journal. "He was the guy on the weak side of the floor who made all of the plays for us. He played a phenomenal game. Abram Daramola and Avery King played real nice games, also."
King finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, six steals and three assists, and Daramola added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Robert Morrabel had eight points, eight assists and two steals while 6-foot-6 center Steven Trenteseaux blocked nine shots and pulled down seven rebounds.
"It was a great all-around effort tonight," Barker said.
"They (Tolman) were more aggressive than us," Shea coach Mike Kayata said. "They got more runs than we did, and that was the game in a nutshell. We were getting the shots that we needed, but the ball didn't bounce our way."
Chartier Returns For Chariho
Chariho got starting point guard Andy Chartier back from an ankle injury last week and his presence impacted the team immediately. His leadership and experience helped guide the Chargers to a 63-44 league win over North Kingstown.
Without Chartier before the holiday break, Chariho went 1-4.
"He (Chartier) settles the team down; offensively we seem to be a little more composed," Chariho coach Chris Ritacco told the Chariho Times.
"He's probably our best ball handler, so when teams are pressing us we have a little more control now with him taking over. Plus having him able to hit the outside shot opens it up inside a little more for John Tully (10.0 ppg in last two games)."
Chartier and Tully both scored 10 points in a 54-49 loss to rival Exeter-West Greenwich last Friday. Chariho had a 16-point lead in the second half, but the Knights rallied and won behind a 32-point performance of point guard Pat Sturdahl.
"It was a tough game to lose, but hopefully we learn something from it," said Ritacco.
Narragansett Holds On to Edge East Greenwich
Despite being down by double digits for much of the game, East Greenwich battled back to come within one point of Narragansett in RIIL Division II Central play last week.
But Narragansett senior center John Patterson scored 12 points and made six of eight free throws, including the game-winner with 0:14 left as the Mariners survived for a 53-50 road victory over the East Greenwich. Narragansett improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in Division II play.
"Anytime you win on the road, it's always good," Narragansett coach Gene Wilson told the East Greenwich Pendulum.
"We did well in spurts and at times we had good runs, then we had letdowns where we let them back into the ball game...I'm just happy that we came out with the victory. If you can get a close one on the road, first one out in league play, then it is what it is, you take it any way you can get it."
South Kingstown Off to a Fast Start
South Kingstown is off to an 8-1 start overall (2-0 in Division I South), losing only to Rogers of Newport. Seven of its eight wins have been by double figures.
After winning at Exeter-West Greenwich, the Rebels returned home to host rival North Kingstown. Led by Greg Hanna's clutch free-throw shooting, they outlasted the Skippers, 52-46.
"We throw the records out the window when we meet North," South Kingstown coach Jim Champion told the Narragansett Times. "It's a big rivalry and it doesn't matter what happened before, you know you'll always have a good game either here or there."
"It's always a good game down here," said North coach Aaron Thomas. "It doesn't matter if one team's 4-20 and one team's undefeated, it's always going to be a good game. It's going to come down to the wire and you have to prepare yourselves for that."
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com master photographer for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island region and a Northeast region columnist. He may be reached at j.stout@jmstout.org