Oakers keep SRA winless
Coventry uses 14-0 run to pull away from Saints
St. Raphael boys can’t overcome Coventry
PAWTUCKET — Having secured a crucial victory at home against South Kingstown on Tuesday, the Coventry boys basketball team looked to keep their newfound momentum going on Thursday night as they hit the road to take on a struggling St. Ray’s squad.
For the second time in as many games, it would be the second half telling the tale of the tape, with the Oakers erupting out of the gate by going on a 14-0 run to help pave the way for a 61-52 win.
Nick Fuentes led the way with a team-high 21 points, followed by Aaron Smith who had 19 and Jayden Voelker who finished with 10 as the Oakers made it back-to-back league wins to cap the week.
“We’re 3-3 so at least we’re back to even and we’ll go from there,” head coach Jim Moretti said of the win, one that required a rejuvenated effort on his team’s end in the second half to be made possible.
“We started falling asleep, getting lazy,” Moretti said of his team’s first half play as an early 14-7 lead slipped away and turned into a 29-24 deficit going into the break.
A few key changes on both ends of the court made certain that the final 16 minutes were not a repeat of the first 16.
“Second half, we switched to the 1-3-1 (zone), which I thought was the difference for the most part and we moved the ball better on offense,” said Moretti.
Whereas Tuesday’s win was defined primarily by the 3-point shot (11 in total), Coventry had more success in closer proximity to the basket on Thursday, hitting just four shots from beyond the arc in their latest win.
“We went inside. We kept preaching that because we had the size advantage,” Moretti said.
Adjusting their defensive approach helped pave the way for success on the offensive end of the court as well, leading to points in the paint.
“They’re a 3-point shooting team, we extended on it and then we scored inside,” said Moretti.
The lone exception came in the first two minutes when Fuentes and Smith sank consecutive threes to give Coventry a 30-29 edge before
Voelker nailed a three of his own to make it 43-32.
Other than that, nearly all of the points were scored either in the paint or at the free throw line.
The Saints, now 0-5 in league play, refused to go quietly though, riding the three ball to carve into Coventry’s lead, getting as close as 53-49 at one stage in the second half before the visitors closed out play on an 8-3 run.
Neiko Ward hit two of St. Raphael’s nine 3-pointers, leading the way with 12 points in the loss, while Devin O’Malley and Julian Melendez each had nine points.
“We didn’t play fundamental basketball,” SRA coach Ruben Garces, in his first year with the program said of Thursday’s defeat. “We were out of our elements. We weren’t fundamentally sound and that cost us.”
A 22-10 run over the final 11:16 of the opening half served as the bright spot on the night for the Saints who are going through a rebuilding year.
“I’m not really worried about the record. We’re trying to teach fundamentals,” Garces said of the focus moving forward. “I tell them every day, I’m not ashamed to tell anybody, we’re trying to change the culture here. It’s going to be a difficult year. I can coach, but they’re the ones playing. I’m not the one playing basketball, my playing time is over, so they need to go out there and execute what I try to teach them,” he said.
The Saints will continue their quest for their first league win next Monday when they head up to Woonsocket to take on the Villa Novans at 7 o’clock.
Coventry will have a non-league showdown against Kent County rival West Warwick on Saturday before getting set for three league games next week.