Burrillville falls in final
Boys lose to Portsmouth in Division II championship
PROVIDENCE — A helpless feeling engulfed the Burrillville High boys basketball team at the worst possible time.
The Broncos were getting the shots that had been there all season long. Against Portsmouth with the Division II title on the line, the iron inside Rhode Island College’s Murray Center proved to be most unkind. The lack of offensive efficiency had an unfortunate side effect as Burrillville’s usual pluckiness on the defensive end slowly eroded to the point where the Patriots were able to apply some distance on the scoreboard.
In the end, Burrillville had to settle for runner-up status after falling to the now-back-toback D-II champs, 51-36, on Saturday. Don’t think for a second that Portsmouth led wireto-wire. Burrillville was up 2719 in the third quarter and was still in front at the onset of the fourth quarter (31-29).
Then came the fourth quarter to largely forget if you’re the Broncos. Burrillville missed 10 of 11 shots, committed two turnovers, and scored five total points. The ice-cold performance opened the door for Portsmouth to seize control and that’s exactly what happened. The Patriots outscored their opponents by a 22-5 margin over the final eight minutes.
“I told the kids that I thought the execution was great. We just had a very difficult time putting the ball in the basket,” said Burrillville head coach Kevin Randall. “We knew what we were up against today. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done.”
The way that Burrillville’s scoring sheet broke down is reflective of how the game played out. Senior forward Colby Bouzon carried the Broncos in the first quarter, netting 10 of the team’s 12 points. He didn’t score a single point over the final three quarters. Junior guard Jaden White netted three 3-pointers for nine points – all of them coming in the third quarter.
The only Burrillville regular to score in each quarter was junior forward Dean Ayotte. He tied Bouzon for team co-scoring honors with 10 points.
“They’re a good defensive team, but we still got looks,” said junior guard Wes Cournoyer, who ended up with five points.
The Broncos led after one (12-7) and again at the half (19-18). A team that’s relied on a host of contributors during this memorable postseason run added another member to the group after Bouzon came out and made three 3s in the opening quarter.
“I texted him this morning and told him that he was going to go off,” said Randall. “He came out hot, then they made their adjustment.”
White shook off the sting of two first-quarter fouls to help fuel seven straight points to begin the third for the Broncos. He sandwiched two threes around a hook by Ayotte as Burrillville carried an eight-point lead under the five-minute mark of the third.
“Jaden had a great start to the quarter. Unfortunately, some other guys couldn’t get going,” said Randall.
Burrillville’s lead was seven (31-24) after White once again found the range from deep. Then came a push that was solely guided by Portsmouth senior Tim Chlaupek. He scored five straight points to close the third, a sequence that featured a three from the top of the key as the horn sounded.
Just like that, Burrillville went from enjoying some breathing room to walking a fine line heading into the final quarter. In many ways, Chlaupek’s late-quarter trey helped swing the momentum in Portsmouth’s favor with the Patriots making sure it firmly remained in their corner the rest of the way.
“We weren’t hitting shots, but neither were they until that happened. Then everything started falling for them,” said Cournoyer about Chlaupek’s make that proved to spur the Patriots to a strong finish.
Portsmouth responded from the 27-19 deficit with a 17-4 run that featured more firepower from Chlaupek, who finished with 16 points on four threes. Burrillville’s lone hoop in the fourth was a Cournoyer three that made it a one-point game with five minutes left, but Portsmouth kept making while Burrillville kept missing.
“Sometimes, the ball doesn’t go through the hoop. Unfortunately, it happened in this spot,” said Randall. Burrillville closes with a 9-3 record that should be cherished based on backto-back road playoff wins where the margin of victory was three points each time.
“It’s not the way we wanted to end it, but no one probably thought we would win all three [playoff games that were needed to reach the finals],” said Cournoyer. “We at least got the chance to play in the D-II championship game.”