Tigers ready to play after long break
PAWTUCKET – Tolman High coach Bill Coughlin had plenty of time to scout potential foes in the upcoming R.I. Open Tournament, given the fact his Tigers didn’t play up to snuff during a 61-55 loss to 12th-seeded Westerly in the state Division II preliminary round.
He held the notion that his squad could face North Kingstown in a first-round showdown, and he guessed right. That’s why he attended the Skippers’ 53-43 defeat to St. Raphael in a Division I tourney semifinal last Friday.
Despite the upset to the Bulldogs, Coughlin stated, “I think we’re motivated (for the Open). I don’t think anybody’s happy about the Westerly loss; we want to get the bad taste out of our mouths.”
Tolman, the 12th seed at 158 overall, will get the opportunity when it takes on the fifthranked Skippers (17-6) tonight at 5:30 at East Greenwich High.
“I saw NK on Friday, and what I noticed was they don’t beat themselves,” Coughlin noted. “They’re fundamentally sound, they’re well-coached (with veteran Aaron Thomas at the helm) and they don’t make many mistakes.
“Two things come to mind when you talk about what it will take to win,” he added. “First, we have to control the boards because that’s one of their strengths; and, second, we can’t turn the ball over.”
To emphasize both aspects of the game, Coughlin traveled to Pilgrim – which as the 14th seed will play third-ranked Shea in the same Open event tonight – for a Monday night scrimmage.
“We had a lot of mini games against them, kind of experimented with different combinations; some looked better than others,” he said with a laugh.
NK mainstays include 6-3 junior guard Ryan Maloney; 6-4 senior forward and co-captain Thorston Brochu; fellow co-captain and guard Bruce Coppola; and seniors Crosby and Liam Lynch.
“Maloney is a knockdown shooter, and he’s got good size for the position,” he said. “He’s one of those kids who doesn’t get rattled when the pressure is on him, and Brochu is a forward/center type who is really physical. He has an incredible motor, and the kid is just relentless on the offensive boards.”
As for the Tigers, Coughlin will rely on 6-7 sophomore Dyondre Dominguez, 6-5 senior center/forward Mike Rodrigues, 6-3 senior forward Jeramy Almeida and 6-5 senior swing Tim Greene to handle the boards. Junior guard/forward Tedrick Wilson (6-3), not to mention senior guards DeShon Cardoso, Josh Goncalves and junior Julius Cardoza will try to shoot from the outside – and feed their taller teammates without allowing steals.
“We have to realize that we have to maintain contact for the entire game,” Coughlin stated. “We’ve got to box out – we call it drawing first blood. We have to hit them before they hit us, but don’t take that literally; I don’t mean the legal sense of the phrase. I’m talking about blocking bodies.
“We have to read what’s happening before they do,” he added. “The good thing about this tournament is that everyone starts out zero-zero. It takes four wins to eventually win the Open championship, and we’re going to try our best to do just that.”