Raiders top Wizards
PAWTUCKET – After sustaining a 10-point loss at Narragansett two nights before, Shea High head coach Steve DeMeo explained to his crew the importance of getting off to a strong start when it faced West Warwick on Friday night.
“He told us we had to play good, hard defense, don’t leave their shooters open, play strong and take care of the ball,” junior guard Nate Rodrigues stated. “I think we did a really good job of those things.”
As anticipated, the Wizards put up a gallant fight, but the Raiders took advantage of an always red-hot Erickson Bans, a mere sophomore who plays beyond his years, to collect a satisfying 77-67 Division II decision before perhaps 100 fans at The Cage.
Bans manufactured a game-high 33 points, not to mention nine assists, seven steals and four rebounds, while junior Marquis Gomes chipped in 13 points, senior Gerald Soe 11 and Rodrigues seven.
Other key contributions came from senior forward Joe Adeboyega (one point, 12 rebounds) and classmate/ center Ruben Delgado (two points, 10 boards), helping the Raiders improve to 10-4 in league action.
WW fell to 4-11, despite a team-leading 21 points from junior center Aidan Lynn. Senior Jason Paquette added 16, senior Dylan Wheeler a dozen and classmate Andrew D’Ambrosca eight in the losing effort.
“The difference from the other night was we actually rebounded better,” Rodrigues offered. “We crashed the boards better, pushed the ball up the floor. Pure and simple, our fast break was better.”
Noted DeMeo: “In the second half, we picked it up a notch defensively, which allowed us to start to run and get Erickson the ball in the open floor; that’s where he does his magic. He can pass the ball, shoot up a three, anything. He does so much for us.
“The thing about him is he sees the floor unlike any one I’ve ever coached,” he added. “He’s like a chess master, seeing two or three moves ahead of everyone else. He’ll make passes where I’m thinking, ‘Where the heck is he going with the ball?’ I’ll look to his target and there’s someone wide open under the basket. It’s uncanny.
“The great ones – the ones with the most talent and the best vision – they also work at their games, and Erickson is one of them. After he’s done here, he’ll be at the Boys & Girls Club working on his shot or dribbling; he’s always got a basketball in his hand.
“The kid will do whatever, whatever it takes to win.”
Ahead 38-30 at the break, Shea allowed Wheeler to drain a baseline jumper to slice the deficit to six in a scant 12 seconds, but it didn’t take long for the Raiders to respond. They needed 6:44 to assemble a 23-8 surge, one started by Bans’ conventional threepoint play and ended with a Bans dunk, giving the hosts a 61-40 cushion with 9:04 remaining in regulation.
A Bans trey left the Wizards in the same 21-point hole at the 7:44 mark (66-45), but WW battled back. Thanks to the last of Paquette’s five triples, it knifed the deficit to 73-63 with 89 seconds left.
DeMeo’s ensemble later held on to the victory.
Shea had led only 28-23 with 4:22 remaining before the intermission, and Wheeler’s three made it 32-28 only 1:10 later. The Raiders nevertheless scored six of the final eight points of the session to enter the half at 38-30.
“The key for us was much better ball movement in the second half,” DeMeo reasoned. “The guys took care of business on the defensive end. We had a few lapses in the first half, but we kept them to a minimum after that.
“I had told the kids beforehand that West Warwick is a very scrappy team, and that it wasn’t going to come easy. There are times when they seem to shut off their eardrums and don’t hear a sound, but we reiterated that fact at halftime, and I think the kids woke up ad listened.”