Tigers battle back for win
NARRAGANSETT — Spotting Narragansett 12 points is not typically a recipe for success, but the Tolman boys basketball overcame the early hole in a resilient road victory on Friday night.
The Tigers (8-2 in Division II) turned things around after a 12-point deficit, beating the Mariners (5-5), 68-60. An on-the-fly defensive adjustment is what coach Bill Coughlin saw as being behind the major momentum shift.
“All credit to these guys,” he said. “We switched to man-to-man. We trust our guys to make plays and defend the basketball. All credit to my guys for playing hard and playing smart.”
The Tigers had three players in double-figure scoring in the win: Maarten Lopes (19), Isai Prince (15) and Sulayman Faal (11). Lopes went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 2:18, after the Mariners had drawn back within three points.
“I look at our box scores and it’s like nine [points], eight [points], 10 [points],” Coughlin said. “It’s balanced. They are a pleasure to coach. Very unselfish.”
Rugged man-to-man defense and a hectic press helped right the ship for the Tigers after they fell behind 12-0. Faal and Prince hit 3-pointers to end the scoreless drought. The visitors from Pawtucket outscored the Mariners 22-15 after the opening 12-0 run, and were only down by five points at the break.
It was right before halftime buzzer sounded the that it became clear that the Mariners were not exactly in the driver’s seat, despite their lead on the scoreboard. With a little over 10 seconds to play in the half, Gansett had the ball and a chance to extend their lead a bit more.
Instead, Mariner head coach Kyle Bodington called out ‘no shot, no shot’. His team obliged him, and they ran out the clock and jogged into the locker room.
Bodington returned from half well before the rest of the Mariners. He sat in stony silence on the bench, waiting for the game to resume. When it did, the Tigers needed just a couple of possessions to take the lead.
Quick 3-pointers by Leandro Depina (eight points) and Faal made the ’Gansett 12-0 lead seem like an eternity ago. The Tigers would lead the rest of the way.
“I think they’re one of the best teams in the state,” Coughlin said. “I saw them play against North Kingstown. They had that game. That’s a great team. I think our shots fell and theirs didn’t tonight. It was as simple as that.”
Depina helped stretch out the initial Tolman lead with a quick flurry of five points. He drove for a score on one possession, then put his defender on skates the next, hitting a step-back 3-pointer that made it 39-32.
The Tigers went on to lead by as many as 16 before Colby Corson and the Mariners made a late-game bid. Corson had a game-high 27 points in a losing effort. A Corson 3-pointer started a 8-0 Mariner run that had the home team within one possession of the lead.
The calm and collected Lopes made sure his team left southern Rhode Island with their third-straight win, and a playoff berth to boot.
“We clinch a playoff berth with this win,” Coughlin said. “I hope that we have some confidence.”