By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – The objective for St. Raphael was to transform the hardwood into 94 feet of pure fury for Exeter/West Greenwich. Consider the mission a complete success as the Saints chased the Scarlet Knights out of Alumni Hall with a runaway performance, 71-42, on Friday night.
Senior Avery King led the Saints (3-1 Division I-North, 6-2 overall) with 31 points, six steals and eight steals. The bulk of King’s offensive load came off a waiting-in-arms SRA press, which morphed between a full-court trap and three-quarters. EWG was guilty of committing into 23 turnovers, 16 alone coming in the opening half which yielded 19 “free” points for the home team.
It didn’t hurt SRA’s cause that Exeter/West Greenwich was minus starting point guard Joseph Ferle. Last season saw Ferle hurt the Saints for 17 points in a win at the Scarlet Knights’ gym.
“That’s our game,” said SRA head coach Tom Sorrentine about his club forcing the issue with its varying trap schemes. “You make the team play faster, and (Exeter) is not used to playing fast, so they’re rushing shots.”   
It didn’t long for the Saints to turn up the pressure. Up 7-3, SRA scored the next 15 points before Exeter broke the drought at 9:13. By that point the Saints were cruising on Easy Street, up 22-5.
The 15-zip blitzing was aided by five turnovers by Exeter while King pumped in 11 points. A trey by King followed by a lay-in by high-flyer Chris Dewornu gave the Saints their first 20-point lead of the night, 29-9, with 7:09 still remaining in the opening half.
Many of the Saints’ thefts came with either King or Elray Symonds roaming the middle of the floor, eagerly waiting to pounce on a pass thrown in their direction. “Whoever is at that spot goes where the ball goes,” said Sorrentine.
Dewornu canned a deep trey right before halftime, giving SRA a commanding 43-17 lead. The senior came off the bench to contribute 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
“He’s quick and can fly, this was his best game by far,” said Sorrentine. “I ended up playing him a lot tonight because he’s a guy who needs to play. He can get by most guys and is getting better every game.”  
With King set as the primary offensive option and Ray Johnston (seven rebounds) settling in as a nice compliment, questions still remain who can emerge as the Saints’ third option. The lop-sided score allowed Sorrentine to study his reserves for an extended period as the starters were pulled with 10:44 left. King punctuated the starting group’s work with 3-ball in the corner, his fourth make from downtown.
“We need some of those guys to step up. We’re playing such pressure defense and guys need a blow,” said Sorrentine. “Otherwise our guys wear down. We want the other team to wear down, so we need guys to come in and give us 2-4 minutes.” 
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EXETER/WEST GREENWICH (42): Nicholas Eastwood 0 0-0 0, Zachary Hornoff 2 2-3 6, Sean Livsey 0 0-0 0, Ryan McElroy 4 0-1 8, Stephen McMahon 2 2-2 6, Brian Philbert 2 0-2 4, Anthony Tortalano 4 0-0 9, Matthew Varone 0 0-0 0, Ryan Rawnsley 4 1-2 9. Totals: 18 5-10 42.
ST. RAPHAEL (71): Avery King 12 3-4 31, Ray Johnston 1 1-1 3, Nick Gaj 1 0-0 4, Chris Symonds 2 2-2 6, Jean-Daniel Roussel 3 0-0 6, Yendelby Santos 1 1-2 3, Elray Symonds 2 0-0 4, Trevor Vasey 0 0-0 0, Henry Johnson 2 0-0 4, Chris Dewornu 5 0-0 11, David Monteiro 0 1-2 1. Totals: 30 8-11 71.
Halftime: SRA 43-17.
Three-point field goals: EWG 1 (Anthony Tortalano); SRA 5 (Avery King 4, Chris Dewornu).
JV: SRA 41-34.