Tigers secure city championship
Tolman follows up win over Saints with 17-point rout of rival Raiders
PAWTUCKET — Ask Steve DeMeo to size up Tolman High’s playoff potential and the Shea High boys basketball will rattle off several reasons why Division II teams should be concerned about the Tigers.
“They play very smart. Come the playoffs, that’s very important,” said DeMeo after his Raiders fell to their crosstown rivals, 62-45, in non-league action inside Jenks Middle School on Wednesday night. “[Tolman head coach Bill Coughlin and his band of assistants] do a good job. No. 3 [junior Jaylin Baptista] is a player. They’ve got quickness and can take the ball to the basket. We’re a quick team, but they’re quicker.”
In a game that featured sloppy ballhandling on both sides, Baptista had the scoring touch going with a game-high 25 points on four three-pointers. Baptista took control after Tolman (8-2) lost senior big man Leandro Depina for parts of the first and second quarters after picking up three fouls.
“We’re lucky that we have really good leadership,” said Coughlin.
“In another year, a guy like Leandro getting three fouls, it would have sunk our ship. Jaylin seized the moment and ran with it.”
Honored as part of Shea’s Senior Night were Class of 2021 members Kenny Silva, Julian Melendez, Jayden Rodrigues, and Mouhamed Gueye. Junior Joey Reyes came off the bench to supply 13 points while Silva netted 10 points in his final game in a Raider uniform.
Unofficially, Shea committed 26 turnovers while Tolman turned the ball over 22 times.
“Credit to them. They force you to do stuff,” said Coughlin.
Bumped up to Division I for hopefully just one season, Shea finished 1-9 in the first season of the post-Erickson Bans era. To the Raiders’ credit, they hung tough with the postseason-bound Tigers through two quarters. The turnover bugaboo became too much to overcome as Shea failed to keep pace after Tolman grabbed its first double-digit lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Back to Baptista, who snapped a 14-14 tie with a three and later added another three and a layup that helped to put the Tigers up 22-18. On a night when fellow guard Maarten Lopes was held in check and finished with five points, Baptista was ready to shoulder an even greater scoring load. He followed up a 10-point second quarter with eight points in the third.
“The scoring wasn’t going for Maarten, but he was still playing great defense and making the right pass,” said Coughlin.
The Tigers will open the D-II playoffs on Monday night with a 6 p.m. quarterfinal-round game at Jenks. The playoff brackets are expected to be released today.