Valley rivals meet
Donaldson-Lynch tournament tips off
PAWTUCKET— At one point in the second half of Thursday’s Donaldson-Lynch Memorial Tournament contest against Central Falls, veteran St. Raphael head coach Tom “Saar” Sorrentine looked over to the far corner to where Shea sophomore Erickson Bans was standing.
Bans was sporting a smile, no doubt a reaction to what he was seeing. No one in a SRA uniform had an answer for C.F. guard Dutchie Arroyo, who got the rim with relative ease on his way pouring in a game-best 32 points. It was an impressive showing that doubled for cause for concern, as Sorrentine knows what’s looming when St. Raphael and Shea meet in Saturday’s 6 p.m. title game at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket.
SRA turned in an uneven effort but still emerged victorious over Central Falls, 68-55. In the nightcap, Bans was spot-on with 19 points as Shea rolled to a 75-51 victory over crosstown rival Tolman.
When the Saints and the Raiders met in last March’s Final Four game of the R.I. Open Tournament, Bans shined with 23 points on the Ryan Center stage. He didn’t look the part of a freshman that night and appears to have hit another gear in his quest to become known as one of the top players in the state. It’s a scenario that has Sorrentine very nervous heading into Saturday’s matchup after watching the Warriors’ Arroyo pop for 25 points in the second half.
Central Falls got off to a fine start as an Arroyo three upped the lead to 12-6. It was the Saints’ turn to throw the next punch as the two players with the most varsity experience, senior Zaheer Santiago and Huascar Beato, took turns in leading the charge.
Santiago’s third 3-pointer of the half made it 27-16 in St. Raphael’s favor. The defense also improved dramatically as C.F. managed just one field goal in the final 10 minutes. SRA concluded the half on a 27-5 surge.
Things continued to look good for the Saints, who scored the first eight points of the second half to extend the lead to 24 points (41-27) with 13:54 remaining. Putting the Warriors down for the count never truly materialized thanks in large part of Arroyo, who at one point scored 10 straight points.
“He’s tough and can get to the rim any time he wants,” said Central Falls head coach Jeff Doucette about Arroyo.
Sorrentine would concur about Arroyo’s ability to get into the lane and finish strong. One of the key members from this past season’s C.F. football team, Arroyo made 18 trips to the foul line. The junior managed just eight makes, as Sorrentine knows his team dodged a major bullet.
The Warriors never closed to within 10 or less points, but it was clear that the Saints lacked the finishing touch. Sorrentine relied on his second unit to take SRA home, a move that was partly done to learn more about the Saints’ depth.
Luckily for the Saints, Arroyo and the Warriors ran out of time. Santiago led SRA with 20 points while Beato added 14 points. Avion Blue, one of several new faces on this year’s club, added 14 points.
“(Arroyo) had it going and we had no answers for him, but we didn’t come out in the second half and really extend the lead,” said Sorrentine. “We’re just so inexperienced that we’re still learning how to finish a team off. They think they’re good once they have the lead. Central Falls came out and played a great second half.”
As great as Arroyo was, he’s going to need help. The next leading scorer for the Warriors was Emanuel Division (10 points).
“Other people have to step up,” said Doucette, whose squad missed 14 free throws and 13 layups. “The guys came out in the second half and played extremely and wound up making it somewhat competitive.”
Tolman scored the game’s first five points but Shea answered with 11 straight points with Bans producing nine of them. Up 49-26 at recess, the Raiders completely put the game out of reach behind a 10-0 run to start the second half.
Gerald Soe aided Shea’s cause with 13 points while Marquis Gomes added 16 points. Justin Carvalho led Tolman with 19 points. The Tigers and the Warriors will meet in the consolation game at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.