Shea, SRA play for spot in final
Raiders, Saints each playing for revenge Saturday night
PAWTUCKET – The players from St. Raphael Academy and Shea High will enter tonight’s state Open Tournament semifinal clash at the University of Rhode Island’s Ryan Center with varying degrees of vengeful thinking.
Some senior Saints admitted after a Thursday afternoon practice session they were “devastated” by a 63-54 loss to Hendricken in the R.I. Division I championship final, the reason being they had routed the Hawks by 35 during a regular-season game.
It just so happens the Hawks, the top-seeded team in the Open, will battle fifthranked North Kingstown in the other semifinal at 4 p.m., just moments before the start of the Pawtucket-based rivalry (6 p.m.).
“I always think about (the defeat), and it bothers me to this day,” noted senior co-captain/standout forward Trevante Jones. “I’m thinking about getting revenge. We’ve got to get back to the state (Open) final for another shot at them.”
As for the Raiders, they were the top seed in the Division II event with a perfect 18-0 regular-season record, but dropped a 72-64 overtime decision to Cumberland in the title tilt.
“That didn’t affect us at all,” Shea head coach Matt Pita stated of his squad, which will carry a phenomenal 25-2 mark into the rivalry showdown. “I’m sure the guys took it hard the night it happened, but we went right back to business the next day. They put it in the rear-view mirror, then started to prepare for the Open tournament.”
According to SRA veteran chief Tom Sorrentine, “that game actually made us better, even though we lost. Coaching-wise and competewise, we didn’t do a good job at all, but we made some adjustments on offense and defense in practice, and those are the reasons we’ve played so well – so far – in the Open.
“I know (the defeat) is a driving force behind our kids’ mindset, and we’d love to get back to another state final, but we’re just taking it one game at a time. Shea is a really powerful team.”
The Saints (23-5 overall) are seeded second following a 51-38 preliminary win over the Purple and a tense 64-50 quarterfinal triumph over the Clippers. SHS, on the other hand, snared the third-ranking after disposing of Pilgrim (9370) in a prelim, then cruising past Division I opponent Mount Pleasant (67-56) in the quarterfinal.
The two faced off once previously this winter; in both teams’ season opener during the annual Dennis M. Lynch Jr. Memorial Holiday Tournament, SRA crushed Shea, 77-42, though Sorrentine stated, “You can throw that out the window.
“Their football players were just coming off their Super Bowl win, and a lot of those guys didn’t play,” he noted. “That result means nothing. They’re a totally different team now. They beat a really good team in Mount Pleasant, which had been playing very well during the last several games of the (regular) season..
“That was a quality win for (Shea). I mean, Mount had taken Hendricken into overtime before losing in the D-I tournament,” he added.
Sorrentine indicated the Raiders are stacked with talent, with four players whose per game scoring average sat in double digits. Among them: All-Division freshman guard Erickson Bans (19 ppg), senior center Abdul Ajia (18), junior swing Gerald Soe (14) and senior forward Malik MuhammedHester (11.8).
“Their point guard (Bans) is very good, and he’s only a freshman,” he stated. “He can shoot the three, gets to the free-throw line and distributes the ball well. He does everything you’d want from a point, so he’s legit. With Ajia, he’s a force inside and out. His outside shooting has really improved, and Hester is just a really strong kid.
“He rebounds the ball and then can score it, while Soe is their leading three-point shooter with 36 on the regular season,” he continued. “They’re all extremely athletic, but then you’ve got a kid like (senior) Yanique Duarte, the All-State running back. He’s so explosive; he can go by you just like he does on the football field. He’s also a solid defensive player, some- one who knows how to move his feet.
“They also have the quarterback (senior Tyreek Rodrigues) coming in off the bench. He’s a terrific sixth man.”
When asked what it would take to get past Shea, Sorrentine didn’t hesitate.
“Defense has been our key all year,” he said. “We need to put a package together to stop their key guys. The problem is they have so many different weapons; we’re also going to have to rebound the ball, and keep pressure on them defensively, force them into mistakes.”
To no great surprise, Pita repeated Sorrentine’s feelings, stating “They have so many weapons who can score and hit the boards.”
He referred to not only Jones, but also senior wing Willie Washington and senior co- captain/ guard/ point- producing extraordinaire Peter Wilson.
“They switch up their defenses so well, and do it quite a bit,” Pita acknowledged. “Jones is a great player, a top-notch rebounder, and Wilson is one of the best pure shooters in the state. He knows how to score the ball from different spots on the court, and Willie’s another weapon, but I feel we have just as many weapons as they do.
“We’re not going to have any issues if we hit our foul shots and don’t turn the ball over,” he added. “We have to rebound the way we’re capable. I think it’s all going to come down to how well each team shoots the ball inside the Ryan Center. Neither team is used to doing that in such a big gym, where the stands are so far from the basket.
“It certainly is a lot different than Shea, or their Alumni Hall.”