Jones leads Saints past Villa Novans
PAWTUCKET – Trevante Jones did pretty much whatever he wanted on Monday night while leading St. Raphael Academy to an easy 64-39 victory over Woonsocket.
The 6-foot-3 junior forward dominated near the basket, collecting 24 points and 17 rebounds. Guard James Judd, the only senior in SRA’s starting lineup, finished with 15 points.
The Saints improved to 4-1 in Division I while Woonsocket fell to 22. The Villa Novans stayed close to the Saints for most of the first half, trailing just 21-18 with 4:11 left before intermission. The Saints finished on an 8-4 run, including a driving layup at the buzzer from Jones for a 29-22 halftime lead.
Jones added 14 points in the second half as he constantly posted up within five feet of the basket and accepted passes from his teammates. Jones would then turn and jump over defenders to deposit the ball in the hoop.
“They had trouble guarding Trevante,” SRA coach Tom Sorrentine admitted.
Woonsocket, which dropped a 64-45 nonleague decision to SRA last month in the Lynch Memorial Tournament, came out with a better plan this time, using its passing game to beat the Saints’ press that had tortured the Novans in the holiday tourney. Cedrick Harris collected eight of his team-high 14 points in the first half but got little scoring help from his teammates.
SRA’s leading scorer, junior guard Peter Wilson, twice went down on the court after injuring an ankle. He scored just six points on the night. Sophomore Steven Lora came off the bench to take up the slack. Lora finished with five steals and five points.
“Lora did a good job for us,” Sorrentine said. “We needed somebody to step up when Peter went down.”
Woonsocket pulled within 31-26 early in the second half and had two chances to cut the gap. Senior forward Mike Colon missed a pair of opens threes that might have given the Novans some momentum. Woonsocket only made one three-point field goal all night, well below its normal quota.
Jones put the Saints ahead 34-26 with an old-fashioned three-point play, taking a bump while going up for a layup and then sinking the free throw. Reserve forward Mo Danmola added another three-point play for a 40-28 lead with nine minutes left in the game. And then Judd followed suit with a layup and free throw for a 45-31 advantage.
SRA’s pressing defense created numerous turnovers in the second half as the Villa Novans reverted to dribbling the ball and passing into traps. On offense, Woonsocket lacked the kind of quick passing and moving without the ball that coach T.J. Ciolfi favors.
Meanwhile, the Saints were running their offense, feeding the ball inside, and grabbing more than their share of offensive rebounds.
“We shot a lot of layups tonight,” Sorrentine said. “That’s because we passed the ball well.”
The Saints will need to play a complete game Wednesday night when they host unbeaten Smithfield.
“Smithfield has good size,” Sorrentine admitted. “We’ve got to be ready for them.”
Woonsocket has another road game on its schedule. The Novans travel to East Providence, which is 3-2 in D-I, for a pivotal contest.
WOONSOCKET (39) – Tyheem Gray 3 0-0 6, Tim Cahill 1 0-0 3, Mike Colon 2 0-0 4, Ke’Vaughn Davis 2 0-0 4, Cedrick Harris 4 6-8 14, Jaelin Jackson 0 2-2 2, Renaldo Johnson 3 0-0 6, Mo Keita 0 00 0, Ethan Washington 0 0-0 0; totals 15 8-10 39.
St. RAPHAEL (64) – Trevante Jones 11 2-4 24, Steve Lora 1 2-2 5, Jay-Juan Hayes 0 0-0 0, Huascar Beato 3 0-0 6, Peter Wilson 3 0-0 6, Mo Danmola 1 1-1 3, James Judd 5 4-7 15, Zaheer Santiago 1 22 5; totals 25 11-16 64. Halftime: SRA, 29-22. Three-point field goals: Woonsocket (1) – Cahill. SRA (3) – Cora, Judd, Santiago.