No. 16 Tolman gives No. 1 Hendricken challenge
WARWICK — Tolman High senior Su Faal claimed he saw – and heard – the difference as soon as he entered Pepin Gymnasium on the Bishop Hendricken campus late Thursday afternoon.
The sign on the wall left of the main entrance read that the gym holds 548 fans, but there were no more than perhaps two dozen (excluding players, coaches, athletic directors, scorekeepers, scoreboard operators and officials) during warm-ups before the start of the Open state tournament preliminary clash between top-ranked Hawks and 16th-seeded Tigers.
“It was kind of different from other games,” Faal admitted of the perhaps 50 folks on hand. “I feel like, because there were so few people in the stands, it was more of a level playing field for us.”
And, much to the surprise of those (maybe) 50-55 people in attendance, Tolman provided more than a puncher’s chance. It never trailed by more than 15 and actually sliced the Hendricken lead to seven with 1:48 remaining before eventually falling, 53-45.
For those who unfortunately couldn’t attend due to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s concerns about the coronavirus, here is a game synopsis: First, junior center Jason Onye turned a steal into a layup to give the Hawks what appeared to be a comfortable 15-point cushion (48-33) with 6:07 remaining in regulation.
The never-say-die Tigers, however, responded. Senior Isai Prince drained a turnaround baseline jumper and classmate Leandro DePina a short one-hander to slice the deficit to 48-37 with 4:28 left.
At the 3:31 mark, coach Bill Coughlin turned to a friend and grinned, “I’m so proud of these guys!” yet DePina missed the front end of a one-on-one seconds later.
Exactly 32 ticks later, Fall converted a solid, conventional threepoint play to knife it to 48-40.
And, with 1:48 remaining, sophomore Jaylin Baptista splashed a trey to whittle it to 50-43, though the Tigers could draw no closer.
Truth be told, the “empty” gym didn’t seem so quiet during the contest, as players, coaches and some devotees from each side often piped up, applauded, etc.
When asked what he was feeling after the defeat, Coughlin grinned ear-to-ear and stated, “A lot of love for all of these guys. I told them just now that I love the culture they’ve established at Tolman. I mean, they’re great students, great athletes and they have great dispositions. You just can’t ask for a better group.
“I thought we played really well, but one thing we emphasized during practice (on Wednesday) was keeping them out of transition because they’re deadly efficient (in that phase),” he added. “I think we did a good job of getting back after missed shots, but I also think their defense bothered us into turnovers.”
All told, the Tigers closed with 23, while Hendricken made just 13, including six through the final 16 minutes.
DePina recorded a team-high 13 points and 12 boards, good for a career-closing double-double, while Faal added 10, Prince eight and Baptista five.
For the Hawks (25-2), junior guard Sebastian Thomas notched a game-leading 17, classmate Justin Perez 15, sophomore Dave Lynch nine, senior Angel Sanchez five and Onye four.
“The key to the game for us was the people who could come and cheer us on, support us,” Faal said. “They boosted us in the second half, helped us play harder. We just came up a little short.”
Noted Prince: “It was pretty quiet, like we were almost in practice, but I think it helped us. There wasn’t much noise, so our minds were focused on the game, not the people in the stands yelling different things at us. We were focused on the next play, but we did miss them, too.”
The hosts may have taken a 30-20 advantage into the break, but the Tigers opened the clash in style, rushing out to leads of 4-0, 7-2 (after a DePina trifecta off a steal) and 12-8 (after a Prince putback). All told, there were three lead changes early on, the last at 16-15, Hendricken after an Onye lay-in with 8:06 remaining in the session.
Over the next 3:42, the Hawks manufactured a 13-0 run, most of them courtesy of Tolman turnovers, and – after Thomas’ three at 4:53 – they led, 27-15.
In the final stanza, the hosts scored the first five points – on a Lynch layup and Helio Sousa’s trey – for the 35-20 advantage, yet the Tigers knifed it to 39-30. Every time it appeared Hendricken would build the lead, Tolman responded.
“This is a loud gym to begin with, so it wasn’t as quiet as I thought it would be, but was stranger, I think, for the kids,” offered Hawks coach Jamal Gomes. “With no fans allowed, it was disappointing and deflating for our kids. I nevertheless told them that this is a blessing just to be playing – look at the NCAA Tournament (being canceled) – and we don’t even know what’s going to happen for the next game.
“I asked them to come out with their best effort possible,” he continued. “I just wish we had played smarter. At the same time, you can’t take anything away from Tolman (15-10 overall). Their kids played hard and you have to give them credit. They gave us a battle.”
As for Coughlin, he admitted being thrilled with his kids’ overall mood and fight in this one.
“This was a 10 out of 10 in terms of how pleased I am with them,” he said. “Is this the best game we’ve played? Saying that after a loss is kind of funky, but for sure it’s the best overall effort I’ve seen all season.”
TOLMAN (45) – Su Faal 3 2-3 10, Leandro DePina 5 2-5 13, Isai Prince 4 0-0 8, Stanley Barbosa 1 0-0 3, Jaylin Baptista 2 0-0 5, Maarten Lopes 1 1-2 3, Tommy Kodua 1 0-0 3, Moises Gomes 0 0-0 0, Rodney Wilson 0 0-0 0, Salim Chakhsi 0 0-0 0, Jamel Hairston 0 0-0 0, Jayel Rodrigues 0 0-0 0, Carlos Torres 0 0-0 0; totals 17 5-10 45.
HENDRICKEN (53) – Sebastian Thomas 6 2-4 17, Justin Perez 6 0-0 15, Angel Sanchez 1 3-6 5, Dave Lynch 3 2-2 9, Helio Sousa 1 0-0 3, Jason Onye 2 0-0 4, Sebastian Basilio 0 0-0 0, Andres Andujar 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Mazzulla 0 0-0 0, Rocco Zarra 0 0-0 0, Bob Whalen 0 0-0 0, Cam Hughes 0 0-0 0; totals 19 7-12 53. Three-point field goals: Faal 2, DePina, Barbosa, Baptista, Kodua, Thomas 3, Perez 3, Lynch, Sousa. Halftime: Hendricken, 30-20.