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SRA hoopsters down NS in season opener |
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Thursday, 11 December 2008 |
By BRENDAN McGAIR
Sports writer
PAWTUCKET – If first impressions do, indeed, count for something, then both St. Raphael and North Smithfield have plenty of work ahead them.
Fortunately for both sides, this was window dressing. The game doesn’t count in the standings as Wednesday’s clash at the Wellness Center, won by the Saints, 54-33, was an Injury Fund contest. SRA senior Avery King led all scores with 21 points on five 3-pointers while Ray Johnston produced a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. For North Smithfield, Matt Chiccarelli totaled 16 points before fouling out.
The contest allowed both head coaches, North Smithfield’s Steve DeMeo and Tom Sorrentine of St. Raphael, the opportunity to get an on-court sense after 10 days of practice. With DeMeo and Sorrentine saw was some good, some bad, and plenty of reasons why the days ahead will be filled with instruction.
The Sentinels, who figure to be a contender in Division III, were forced into 26 turnovers against a barking Saints press that didn’t seem to let up. The other glaring trouble spot was scoring, normally a strength for DeMeo’s club. North Smithfield managed only eight field goals, going 15-of-24 from the foul line.
“You aren’t going to beat too many teams with eight field goals. I’m pleased with the effort but disappointed with the execution,” said DeMeo. “but we just started practicing last Monday (Dec. 1) and so did Saints. Although we have a lot of seniors, we have seniors who haven’t played much varsity.”
The growing pains from Sorrentine’s end come from trying to play and succeed with a different style. Plenty of scoring punch was lost due to graduation in the forms of Jeff Holmes and Justin Maneca, so Sorrentine’s plan is to try and play up-tempo virtually the entire 32 minutes.
The Saints possess the horses to run. What Sorrentine is trying to do is mix in some basketball sense and turn the Saints into 94 feet of pure fury. At this point, the concept is still a work in progress.
“We’ve got some guys who can run, so we’re going to try and pressure the court and half-court,” said the veteran Sorrentine. “That’s what we have to do in order to win.”
While Sorrentine wants his club to maintain its aggressive ways, he also wants them to be smart when it comes to picking and choosing their battles. SRA was whistled for three fouls with not even 54 seconds gone by, racking up 13 by halftime.
“We had too many fouls. We want to pressure the ball, which is what we’re constantly on them about, but we got too aggressive early,” said Sorrentine. “We were trying to get the steal instead of setting up guys to make the steal.”
There was a touch of frost in the gym as both sides struggled mightily in the opening half. North Smithfield trailed 10-3 early as SRA’s pressure was clearly taking its toll. Foul trouble also plagued the visitors with Chiccarelli and starting point guard Zach Dobson (eight points) to long stretches.
“I don’t try to value one guy over another, but it’s obvious that when certain guys get in foul trouble, it’s going to hurt us,” said DeMeo. “(SRA’s) press was good and they get after it, but we passed it right into their hands. Instead of looking up the floor, we had our heads down and dribbled right intro traffic.”
It’s safe to say that if the Saints are going to be a factor this winter, then King (four assists, two turnovers) will have to shoot the ball like he did in the second half. After firing away at a 1-for-10 clip in the first half, King found the range from beyond the white stripe.
“He got better shots in the second half,” said Sorrentine. “He had wide-open looks instead of driving with three guys on him.”
North Smithfield trailed 32-22 with 10 minutes remaining before mounting a serious threat. Four free throws courtesy of Chiccarelli trimmed SRA’s once comfortable lead down to 36-30 with 6:45 to go. Thanks to King that’s as close as the Northmen would reach. The point guard swished two treys to push SRA’s lead back to double figures, 45-31.
“It’s was like a boxing match in that we finally got to them,” said Sorrentine. “We were able to get a little gap.”
There’s no easing into the season for the Saints, who jump right into the Lynch Tournament beginning tonight at the Boys’ & Girls’ Club. The SRA-Davies Tech contest follows the opening contest between Central Falls and Providence Country Day.
North Smithfield is off until next Tuesday when the Sentinels open up league play at home against Burrillville.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 January 2009 )
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