By Russ Waterman
MaxPreps.com
The table has finally been set for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League boys and girls state basketball championships at the Ryan Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island on Saturday March 8 and Sunday March 9.
First, here are the schedules:
Girls (Saturday, March 8)
Division 1: St. Mary Academy- Bay View vs. La Salle, 2:00 p.m.
Division 2: Scituate vs. Mount St. Charles, 12:00 p.m.
Division 3: Hope vs. Our Lady of Fatima, 10 a.m.
Boys (Sunday, March 9)
Division 1: Bishop Hendricken vs. Woonsocket, 6:00 pm
Division 2: Classical vs. West Warwick, 3:30 p.m.
Division 3: Central Falls vs. Moses Brown School, 1:30 p.m.
Now the match-ups:
Boys Division 1: Number 2 Woonsocket Likes its Chances
It's not just fitting that the two top-ranked teams in Rhode Island will meet for the state championship. Many give No. 2 Woonsocket (19-2) as good a chance as any to derail Bishop Hendricken's drive for a fifth-straight title, with the Villa Novans being the only Rhode Island squad to defeat Hendricken this season.
Woonsocket took care of business on Tuesday with a 58-51 semifinal win over North Kingstown while Bishop Hendricken, with a combined 51 points from Billy Baron (29) and Brendan Degnan (22), eliminated Mt. Pleasant in the other semifinal.
The Hawks (20-2) have considerable depth and also depend on contributions by Kevin McCartney and Matt Barbosa on the inside, and Nick Manning on the outside, among others in a 10-man rotation.
Woonsocket, coached by two former local collegians (Kyle Ivey-Jones of URI and Nehru King of Providence) like to keep the tempo fast, especially with the ball in the hands of dart-quick 5-9 guard Antjuan Jones and Brett Coderre. However, the Villa Novans have strength inside, too, with 6-6 Michael Akinrola and 6-5 forward Michael LaPlante.
Boys Division 2: Classical Approach is to Win
Classical High of Providence, with a state-best 18 wins in a row, still stands as the Ocean State's only team to vanquish all in-state competition, though the Purple (22-1) have been tested far more during the tournament than the regular season, when they overwhelmed teams by 26 points-plus per game.
First the Purple endured a body shot by (8) Narragansett in a 62-51 win. Then with 6-4 center Ashton Watkins recording game-highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds, they gutted out a 61-54 semifinal win over a physical (4) Rogers team to qualify for the state championship.
The Wizards of West Warwick (18-7) have had an up-and-down season, especially in league play (10-6), but are now on a two-game upset roll. Bruce Sobers, a 6-5 forward, scored 13 points in the second half and was one of four players in double figures in the Wizards 64-44 upset of (2) Coventry, which had a 13-game win streak snapped.
Six-foot-eight Ryan Coburn is also a dominating rebounder and shot blocker while guard Rich Lizotte vividly displayed his offensive capabilities in a win over (3) Feinstein, when he compiled all of his 29 points in the second half, including four consecutive three-pointers in a span of 94 seconds.
The sixth-seeded Wizards must figure out how to contain 6-4 junior center Ashton Watkins, whose average of 20 points and 19 rebounds per game will severely test the Wizards' big men. Guards Josh Cabrera and Levon Waite also like to push the pace for the Purple.
Boys Division 3: Central Falls, Moses Brown Still Standing
The division was a logjam during the regular season, with four teams among the 11 squads separated by just one game. But top-seeded Central Falls 19-4 and second seed Moses Brown (19-5) emerged from the playoffs and will meet for the third time after splitting their regular-season series.
It will be a test between the division's best offensive squad, with Central Falls averaging 72 ppg, against Moses Brown's very stiff defense, which allows merely 47 points a game.
Moses Brown just averted a titanic upset on Thursday with a stirring 51-50 overtime victory against defending state champion and six seed Juanita Sanchez of Providence, the only team with a losing record (13-14) in the playoffs. Center Billy Cosmopoulos accounted for 22 points and was perfect from the foul line (6-of-6), with Moses Brown needing every foul shot (17-of-18 overall) to avoid being taken down.
Speed is Central Falls biggest weapon, with Robert Alers, Henry Goncalves and Luis Pena able to pile up points with help from big man George Carle inside.
Girls Division 1: St. Mary Academy, LaSalle Play it Again
For the past three years, it's been the best show in Ocean State girls' hoop, attracting record crowds, avid interest and providing gripping, high-quality basketball. And the scene will likely be repeated again as top seed St. Mary Academy-Bay View of East Providence (24-1) and La Salle Academy (19-3) of Providence collide in the 2008 final.
The Bengals have an unblemished mark against in-state rivals, but following a 39-point win over North Kingstown in the quarterfinals they were flat in a 49-39 semifinals win over Coventry. Do-everything guard/forward Brittany Wilson and guard Kashaia Cannon (both signed with Northeastern University) have been the prime go-to players, but Jill Woerner has had successive double-digit playoff efforts.
The Rams had to pull out a 56-51 come-from-behind win over (3) South Kingstown in a grind-it-out semifinal win, led by Torey Jones with 19 points. Monica Bharoocha, Jameilia Dillon and other Rams teammates have also been consistently on top of their game for the defending state champions, who beat St. Mary Academy last year in an epic title victory.
Both teams can score in bunches, but can stop teams, too, as La Salle has held opponents to 38.5 points per game, Bay View to 39.
Girls Division 2: Barrington Looks to Repeat vs Upstart Mounties
What was expected to be a close semifinals match between top-seed Scituate and (5) Barrington quickly dissolved into a defensive gem by Barrington, the defending state champion, which shut down the Spartans in a 47-32 win (Katie Birrel managed only six points after a superlative 25-point quarterfinal performance). So it will be Barrington vs. Mount St. Charles in the final.
The Eagles (21-3) have several players they depend on for scoring, including Lindsay Legro, Angie Daniels, Caitlyn Milazzo and Kelly Mannix. But this will probably be a defensive battle in the trenches as neither team surrenders points easily, with the Eagles yielding 35 points per game and the Mounties (18-5) only 37 per contest.
Surprising Mount St. Charles (7) emerged as the victor in an all-Woonsocket semifinal. Number 7 Mount St. Charles registered a mild upset in defeating (5) Woonsocket, 49-47. The Villa Novans tied the game to force an extra session when sophomore Brooke Coderre (17 points) made a three-pointer at the buzzer. But Michelle Turcotte made four foul shots in overtime to provide enough for the win.
Girls Division 3: Hope vs. Our Lady of Fatima a Toss-Up
Experts would be split right down the middle to predict the outcome of the championship game between (1) Hope and (2) Our Lady of Fatima of Warren as both teams defeated each other on the road by the exact same margin, 18 points, during the regular season.
Ironically, Our Lady of Fatima (13-7), the division's highest scoring club (50 ppg), struggled in its only playoff game, a 34-28 win over Central Falls.
It was Hope, however, averaging of 40 points per contest, which broke out against Mt. Pleasant, when Blue Wave freshman Mikaela Garvin scored 26 points to fuel a 66-50 victory in the semifinals. Savonna Crum added 14, Sandy Ogando nine and Amy Betts eight in helping the Blue Wave earn its first state title appearance in 17 years; it won the old Class C championship in 1989.
Our Lady Fatima, in its first state title appearance, does not rely on a few players for all their points. Amanda Francisco, Kara Ramsey, Devin Arsenault, Sara Morrison, Paige Arsenault and Meaghan Welford typically share in the scoring.
NEPSAC: Providence County Day Turns Table on Fortunes
The Providence Country Day boys' basketball team had the biggest turnaround of any Rhode Island team this season, going from a winless season last year to a 20-12 campaign and the NEPSAC Class D-2 title after a 56-42 win over the Darrow School (New Lebanon, N.Y.).
Nick Calvino scored 13 points and was named tournament MVP, with three teammates also placing in double figures: Nick Sienkiewicz (12), brother Tyler (10) and Nigel Edwards (10). The first-year coach and athletic director is Tom Sienkiewicz, a fomer Villanova star who is also the father of Nick and Tyler.
(Note: Statistics citing league and overall records from the Rhode Island Interscholastic League were also used in this report)
Russ Waterman covers Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the New England Preps for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at rwathoop3@aol.com
