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Cold-shooting CF hoopsters fall to Moses Brown in Div. 3 title game |
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Monday, 10 March 2008 |
By BRENDAN McGAIR
Sports writer
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – They could have folded up shop when they went scoreless for over eight minutes in the second half, a dry spell that saw Central Falls fall behind 16 points.
The signs of quit never appeared amongst the Warriors. CF instead made a game of it down the stretch Sunday afternoon at the Ryan Center, shredding what seemed an insurmountable deficit down to a manageable six points with over a minute remaining.
However, Moses Brown, in its first year competing in the RIIL, held serve down the stretch to claim the Division III championship, 57-48.
CF, the top seed, ran into a Moses Brown outfit (No. 2 seed) that ended up giving the Warriors the type of defensive fits that coach Brian Crookes’ club rarely encountered this winter. Central Falls shot 32 percent, a figure that improved significantly by the Warriors coming alive over the final 4:21 with 16 points – this after managing just six points in 12 minutes to start the second half.
“We made a nice run in the end in which my guys showed a lot of heart and a lot of pride,” said Crookes.
Asked what Moses Brown did to knock a CF club that normally plays in the 70-point range off course, Crookes’ responded “[Moses Brown] extended out and we had to pass the ball way deep on the perimeter. Everyone was looking at each other, wondering who was going to do something.”
Despite dealing with foul trouble, George Carle paced the Warriors with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Henry Goncalves added 10 points while Luis Pena amassed nine points, seven assists and four steals.
The Quakers’ Anjuwon Spence took home MVP honors thanks to leading all scorers with 18 points. Seekonk native William Cosmopulos pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with seven points while Luke Martin had 14 points.
The Warriors started off slow, trailing 12-6 after making just two of their first 11 shots. Things were looking up when Cosmopulos, the Quakers’ starting center, picked up his second foul at 13:30.
Cosmopulos headed into halftime with three personals, but didn’t pick up another foul the rest of the way. “I had to focus on other people helping me on defense; I had to play smart the entire game,” said the Moses Brown senior. “I used my head and relied on the rest of my team playing defense.”
Central Falls eventually got on track, enjoying a 15-2 surge that vaulted the Warriors in front, 21-14. It was defense turning into baskets with Goncalves dialing up a three and Antonio Mena scoring inside, both coming off Moses Brown turnovers.
Right before halftime, Moses Brown countered with an 11-4 run to send the two teams off to their respective lockers deadlocked at 25-all. Spence tied the score with a trey from the corner inside 10 seconds.
The Quakers, which split the two regular season meetings with the Warriors, scored seven straight points to go up 32-27 early in the second, but hoops from Carle and Robert Alers brought CF to within a point with still plenty of time to go.
It’s important to note Alers’ hoop, for that was the last one Central Falls recorded in some time. The next eight minutes saw the Warriors go scoreless while the Quakers surged, scoring 15 straight points that saw them go up 47-31 with 6:35 remaining.
CF certainly made it interesting down the stretch. Pena halted the dry spell with a floater and back-to-back hoops from Carle and Goncalves whittled the deficit down to 11 with four minutes remaining.
The hole was reduced to 54-48 after Pena drained a triple with 1:05 to play. The Warriors forced the Quakers into a turnover on the ensuing possession, but a 3-ball attempt from Alers wouldn’t stick and Moses Brown appeared was on its way to surviving.
“CF is a great team. We didn’t count them out for a second,” said Cosmopulos. “They have a great bunch of athletes and we knew we were in it until the end.”
“To score 48 points, that’s not our style,” said Crookes.
The Warriors had to contend with foul trouble throughout. Four players had two fouls by halftime and two fouled out. Consequentially, the Quakers shot 28 free throws compared to only 10 for the Warriors.
“We got into foul trouble early and when you take away our ability to use our hands to take away the ball, it slows us right down,” said Crookes. “That put them on the line, but we couldn’t get back in our transition game.”
The future appears bright for the Warriors, who retain just about all their key guys for next season. For Crookes, this marks the second time in his three seasons at the helm that he’s taken CF to a title game.
“This is an underclassmen group; they gave me every ounce of blood, sweat and tears from the first day of camp,” said Crookes. “The season exceeded everything I said. For the first time, it feels that it’s my team.
“We’re going to be good for a few more years.” |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 May 2008 )
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