|
SRA hoopsters pin loss on Mount Pleasant |
|
|
Wednesday, 09 January 2008 |
|
By BRENDAN McGAIR Sports writer PAWTUCKET – The logistics behind the timeout wasn’t to diagram a play. St. Raphael coach Tom Sorrentine just wanted his club to catch its breath against a sleeker Mt. Pleasant unit. At the time of the stoppage, SRA trailed 31-28 with 13:38 remaining. “I thought we were gassed; we wanted to get a blow,” said Sorrentine. Seven seconds remained on the shot clock when St. Raphael broke the huddle. With the horn about to sound, senior Doug Hopper swished home a 25-footer, the first of a few thank you’s the Saints gave Sorrentine down the stretch for giving them a chance to re-group. Hopper’s deep trey didn’t just tie the game at 31. It ignited the Saints to make a strong push towards the finish line, resulting in a 61-55 win over the previously unbeaten Kilties. Jeff Holmes paced the Saints with 16 points and 17 rebounds while Hopper finished with one his finest performances of the season, contributing 17 points. Justin Maneca helped put the finishing touches with four free throws in the final 79 seconds, finishing with 11 points and five assists. Certainly not lost in Sorrentine’s eyes was the effort Angelo Santos gave coming off the bench. Santos collected eight points and five rebounds, scoring on a reverse that gave SRA a 43-42 lead, its first lead since 7-6. Mount Pleasant, which came in sporting a 3-0 in Division I-East, received 13 points apiece from Esaie Touze and John Conti. Though Hopper’s 3-ball wasn’t what SRA diagrammed, the Saints weren’t about to disagree with the end result. They especially weren’t about to brush aside the offensive flow Hopper’s shot catapulted them on. SRA (4-1 Division 1-North, 7-1 overall) nearly matched its point total up until that point in the final 13 minutes, hanging 30 points on Mt. Pleasant. “We got our stuff together and played well down the stretch,” said Sorrentine, whose crew hasn’t lost since falling to Woonsocket High back on Dec. 18. Usually 6-foot-7 centers aren’t asked to handle the ball, but with Mike Holland (five assists) the lone point guard Sorrentine has at his disposal until Avery King becomes eligible, the Saints have turned to Holmes. What Holmes did was help spark the Saints whenever the Kilties applied pressure. The result was numerous uncontested lay-ins with Hopper serving as the primary recipient. “They wanted to pressure and double the ball, but now they have [Holmes] playing their big guy with the ball,” said Sorrentine. “It was kind of a good thing for us.” “Holmes had a lot of room to play with. When they spread the floor and give Holmes the ball at mid-court, we have no choice but to play him,” said Kilties head coach Chris Coleman. “By watching him play, he’s not a back-to-the-basket type of player. He was getting the ball out on the wing or taking it up the floor, and that’s a good move on their part.” While point production wasn’t a concern as SRA made the turn for home, that wasn’t the case in the first half. The Saints had trouble getting on track, and had Mt. Pleasant been able to knock down a few more of the uncontested lay-ups it was presented with, the Kilties certainly would have enjoyed more than a 29-24 lead at halftime. ‘We didn’t cash in,” said Coleman. “Guys were dribbling rather than passing.” The other area where the Saints were able to hurt the visitors came on the offensive glass. Hopper and Holmes teamed up to create 10 second-chance points in the second half. “We didn’t pick up those two guys on the box out,” noted Coleman. “A lot of times they just ripped it out of our hands.” “This is a real quality win for is,” added Sorrentine. “We have to play a solid game to win. Mt. Pleasant was a lot faster than us, but our guys hung in.” The road doesn’t get any easier for Mount Pleasant, for awaiting them tomorrow night is undefeated Woonsocket High. “They are going to be tough. I told the guys they could make a statement [by beating SRA] going into Woonsocket, but it didn’t work out for us,” said Coleman. “Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call for us.” St. Raphael has its own big game later this week when East Providence High – a team SRA has eliminated from the postseason in each of the last two D-I tournaments – pays a visit to the Wellness Center. Before that, St. Raphael will entertain a non-leaguer tonight with Cambridge Rindge & Latin, a squad that averages over 90 points, paying a visit.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 29 February 2008 )
|
Horoscope
