Bloe secures Saints first league win

PAWTUCKET — St. Raphael senior wing Avion Bloe scored 22 of his gamehigh 24 points in the second half and he made all eight of his free throws in the final four minutes to lead the Saints to their first Division I win of the season, 68-59, of visiting Hope Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.

“We stayed to it in the second half,” St. Raphael coach Tom Sorrentine said. “The kids are giving it their all and they continue to play hard. The tough part for us is inside where we’re getting beat up on the boards, but we did that well in this game.”

St. Raphael (1-15 Division I) is rewarded for winning its first game with a trip to first-place Bishop Hendricken tonight in Warwick. The Saints, who also received 15 points from Ameir Gomes and 13 points from Matt West, trailed the Blue Wave by six points at halftime thanks to the play of Manny Roman (team-high 22 points).

The Saints trailed for most of the half, but Bloe helped the Saints take the lead and his free-throw shooting late in the contest secured the victory.

HOPE (59) Manny Roman 9 0-0 22, Victor Concepcion 2 0-0 6, Deandre Lewis 1 0-0 2, Ellis Delacruz 1 0-0 3, Elvin MBengi 1 2-2 4, Adriel Concepcion 1 0-0 3, Gerald Hazard 1 0-0 2, Jamari Bell 8 1-2 17, totals 24 3-4 59.

ST. RAPHAEL (68) Ameir Gomes 4 3-3 15, Neiko Ward 1 4-6 6, Avion Bloe 7 9-10 24, Matt West 5 3-6 13, Jaden DeLomba 1 0-0 2, Jayden Garces 4 0-1 8, totals 22 19-26 68. 3-pointers – H, Roman 4, V. Concepcion 2, Delacruz, A. Concepcion; SRA, Gomes 4, Bloe.

Halftime – Hope 29-23.