OPEN SEASON
Open State tourney tips off tonight
Open season is officially upon us as the R.I. Open State Tournament in boys and girls basketball gets underway Tuesday night.
New this year is an additional round of games that are being hailed as preliminary-round contests that resulted in the field expanding from 16 to 18 teams. In keeping with the March Madness theme, you could also dub Tuesday’s four-game card as “first four” games and no one would think you’re speaking a foreign language.
Locally, opening night of the open tournament will be a busy one. In the boys’ bracket, No. 16 seed Tolman hosts No. 17 seed Rogers at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., No. 15 Woonsocket welcomes Blackstone Valley Prep,
the 18th and final this year’s field.
Tuesday night’s girls slate will feature No. 17 Burrillville traveling to No. 16 Johnston for a 6 o’clock contest. At 7 p.m, No. 18 Woonsocket will square off against Chariho in the Chargers’ gym.
The winners from Tuesday’s games will advance to the Round of 16 that will be held Thursday night at school sites. The Tolman-Rogers winner plays top seed Bishop Hendricken while the last team standing of the BVP-Woonsocket matchup heads to No. 2 North Kingstown.
The Johnston-Burrillville winner gets No. 1 seed La Salle. The victor of Woonsocket-Chariho heads to No. 2 seed South Kingstown.
There are several area teams that are already safely in the “Sweet 16” field. Winning the Division III boys hoops title solidified the No. 11 seed for Lincoln, which heads to No. 6 seed East Providence on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. At the same exact time, No. 13 Shea will be tipping off at No. 4 seed Portsmouth.
The Cumberland girls have a Round of 16 contest that will lead the Clippers to No. 5 North Kingstown for a Thursday 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The St. Raphael Academy girls will finally make their postseason debut
team
in
Photo by Ernest A. Brown on Saturday night when the fourth-seeded Saints welcome No. 13 seed Juanita Sanchez for a 7 p.m. “Sweet 16” game at Alumni Hall.
If you’re fortunate enough to get out of the Round of 16, you’ll either head to CCRI-Warwick (boys) or Rhode Island College (girls) next Sunday for quarterfinal-round action. The semifinals and finals in each bracket will be held on back-to-back days at URI’s Ryan Center (Saturday, March 21 & Sunday, 22).