La Salle dominates Woonsocket boys
Young Villa Novans still in Division I playoff hunt as season hits midpoint
WOONSOCKET – Head coach T.J. Ciolfi indicated before Woonsocket High’s Division I tussle with La Salle that he considered it a “scrimmage of sorts,” and had placed no pressure on his troops.
In actuality, his Villa Novans played rather well through the opening stanza, and for a small portion of the latter. The Rams, however, assembled a 13-2 surge in the span of 2:13 midway through the half and sailed to an 80-52 victory before approximately 200 fans at the WHS gymnasium.
“There were two reasons I didn’t want to put pressure on the guys; first, I don’t consider La Salle a must-win because we’re in a group of teams on the bubble of just getting into the playoffs,” Ciolfi stated after his club fell to 6-6 overall and 3-4 in league play. “La Salle isn’t one of them; they’re in the top tier.
“The second reason is I have very few seniors, and my starting five are all underclassmen,” he added. “The last thing the young guys need is me putting more pressure on them. We want to do that all season, and – hopefully – it’ll pay off in the long run.”
The Rams happened to be stunning with the three-ball, landing 11, and junior guard Dan Grzych mustered five while posting a final 17. Senior swing Mike McCourt manufactured a game-high 23 points with three more, and classmate Jim Pare chipped in 12, with senior quin-captain Lawrence Sabir collecting nine more.
La Salle improved to 10-5 overall and 6-1 in D-I.
For Woonsocket, only sophomore Jaelin Jackson (12 points) and classmate De’Vaughn Davis (10) earned double-digits outings, though junior Cedrick Harris and sophomore Tyheem Gray chipped in seven each; senior Ethan Washington six (via two treys); and junior T.J. Cahill five.
With only 5:54 elapsed in the first session, the Rams claimed a 13-4 cushion, though the Novans returned the favor, outscoring their foe, 14-5, in 2:41 to tie the contest for the first time at 18-18 with 7:02 left before the break.
Bu McCourt nailed a three, Pare two free throws, senior Mike Valelli a baseline onehander and McCourt a pair of short jumpers to lift the Rams’ lead to 29-20 with 4:13 left.
Over the remaining moments, WHS pulled to within six (36-30) on Jackson’s pull-up jumper with 57.1 remaining, though Valelli canned a short shot and senior Jonathan Glickman-Tondreau a layin to close the stanza at 40-30.
The Novans continued to hang tough at the start of the second half, with Harris knocking in a putback to make it 45-36 with 12:21 left. La Salle, however, utilized that 13-2 flurry over 2:13 to secure a 58-38 cushion at the 9:55 mark.
Over the initial 10:36 of that last session, the Rams recorded a 33-11 run to end it. That came when Glickman-Tondreau drained a trey with 5:24 left in regulation.
The good news for Woonsocket is this: They committed only 15 turnovers throughout, with eight coming over the final 16 minutes. The Rams finished with 10.
When told of that 33-11 surge, Ciolfi responded, “That’s the price you pay for having such a young team. The game is long, and they couldn’t keep their concentration up because they’re underclassmen.
“Our home schedule the rest of the way is just brutal; we’re facing all the top teams here at home,” he continued. “All the teams we’re battling for a playoff position we’ll play on the road, but I have a lot of faith in these boys. They can get it done. We just want to get to the tournament, and see what happens then.”