Warriors down Pride
BVP’s first playoff game ends in defeat to Warriors
CENTRAL FALLS – In this post-Dutchie Arroyo era, the Central Falls boys’ basketball aren’t just surviving. They’re thriving.
Players are handling their expanded roles just fine, witnessed by the Warriors’ 62-55 win over a determined Blackstone Valley Prep crew in Division III preliminary-round action on Friday night. It was the fifth game minus Arroyo, who was dismissed from the team not long after surpassing the 1,000-point plateau in his career. C.F. improved to 4-1 without Arroyo.
“There’s less pressure during the game and hopefully it’s a life lesson for him,” said Warriors head coach Jeff Doucette, whose squad advances to the quarterfinals and will face No. 3 seed Ponaganset at the Chieftains’ den next Tuesday night.
Marcos Negron and Starlyn Mercado were doing fine when Arroyo was in the lineup. As captains, Negron and Mercado have helped bring the sixth-seeded Warriors even closer.
Mercado shook off a knee injury that forced him to miss a couple of minutes in the second half to finish with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Negron added 11 points before fouling out with 39 seconds left.
The 11th-seeded Pride qualified for the divisional playoffs in their first season as a R.I. Interscholastic League participant. Abdoulaye Sall proved a tough cover down low, the junior netting a game-best 22 points. Fawas Onidade, a senior, had his moments on his way to finishing with 14 points while sophomore Xavier Mendez added 11 points.
“We had a hard time matching their effort. Despite that, we were still able to hang around, which is a positive,” said BVP head coach Kevin Payette. “We just couldn’t string together enough stops in a row.”
Asked how different it was to prepare for a C.F. outfit that didn’t include Arroyo, Payette responded, “They still ran a lot of the same stuff, but a lot of the other guys picked up the slack. Kudos to them for stepping up to the opportunity.”
The Warriors jumped out to a 23-15 lead but the Pride fought back behind Sall, who helped the visitors close to within 32-29 at the break. Whether it was posting up his opponent or finishing strong at the rim, Mercado enjoyed a strong half on his way to netting 15 points.
The game turned sharply in the Warriors’ favor after the home team opened the second half with an 11-0 run that was aided by four turnovers by Blackstone Valley Prep. Negron opened the surge with a three and a three-point opportunity and Luis Gonzalez (10 points) scored in transition as C.F. opened a 43-29 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Eventually, the Warriors cooled off. Up 49-40, C.F. came up empty on six straight trips while BVP scored five straight points. The Pride pieced together a 7-2 run that was capped when Sall went back up strong with 6:27 left. Right before Sall scored, Mercado went down hard and needed help to get to the bench.
Without one of their leaders, the Warriors moved forward. After a hoop from Jaquell Christal (five points), Yacine Diallo rose up and made a three-pointer that was part of an 11-point, 11-rebound effort. That shot gave Central Falls a 5647 lead.
Mercado returned to the court with 4:20 left. He was clearly in pain but was still able to come up with a steal and finish at the rim to put C.F. up 59-49. BVP wasn’t done as Onifade made four straight free throws to bring his team to within four (59-55) with 1:12 left. The Pride went scoreless the rest of the way as C.F’s Kelvin Almonte (six points) sealed it with two free throws with 9.8 seconds to play.
As for facing the Chieftains, Doucette said, “They love to shoot it, but we have nothing to lose at this point. We’re playing with house money.” BLACKSTONE VALLEY PREP (55): Jarrell Jose Carlos 0 0-0 0, Fawas Onifade 4 4-4 14, Xavier Mendez 5 1-4 11, Donovan Baptista 0 2-2 2, Abdoulaye Sall 11 0-1 22, Chris Rodriguez 3 0-0 6. Totals: 23 7-11 55.
CENTRAL FALLS (62): Marcos Negron 3 3-3 11, Luis Gonzalez 4 0-0 10, Jaquell Christal 2 1-2 5, Kenneth Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Yacine Diallo 4 0-0 11, Starlyn Mercado 8 3-6 19, Kelvin Almonte 1 4-4 6. Totals: 22 11-15 62.
Halftime: CF 32-29.
Three-point field goals: BVP 2 (Fawas Onifade 2); CF 7 (Yacine Diallo 3, Marcos Negrin 2, Luis Gonzalez 2)