By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – The stone-cold expression on Antjuan Jones’ face said it all. One eye was checking the clock. Another was surveying the defense St. Raphael was set to drop back in. Once everything was computed, Jones, Woonsocket’s senior guard, went to work.
With St. Raphael mounting a serious charge, cutting a double digit deficit down to three points with plenty of time still to go,  Jones kept his Woonsocket teammates’ heads above water. The shifty guard turned several key plays down the stretch, plays that went a long way in Woonsocket fending off a stern challenge from upset-minded SRA, 66-58, Friday night at Alumni Hall.
Jones paved the way for Woonsocket’s second straight win with a game-high 25 points, adding six steals. Now 12-4 in Division I-North, the Villa Novans received 13 points from Lee Vazquez and 12 from Wilfredo Olmeda.
“Jones is tough,” said SRA head coach Tom “Saar” Sorrentine. “He pretty much took control of the game. He would get the ball, work it, and then make the key pass.”
Avery King topped the Saints with 22 points while Ray Johnston churned out a double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds).
Now 7-9 in league play, the Saints will need to win its remaining two games in order to break even. Right now Sorrentine’s club could be seeded anywhere from 7-12 in next month’s state tournament.
Jones elevated his play at a point in the game in which the Saints where nipping at the Vila Novans’ heels. After being down 11 (34-23) at the break and 13 after Jones sank two free throws on Woonsocket’s opening possession, SRA fought back to trail by 52-49 with 5:27 remaining.
With his team in search of a lift, Jones provided it. Only this time the guard was doing the distributing, not the scoring. He found Vazquez for a foul line jumper and Vazquez cutting toward the rim for a foul and two free throws, a sequence that gave Woonsocket some breathing room, 54-49.
A layup by Jones made it 56-49, but then he delivered the dagger, finding a wide open Vazquez in the near corner. With all day to release, Vazquez buried the trey to put the Novans in the clear, 59-51, with 2:47 remaining.
While he’ll gladly take the win, Kyle Ivey-Jones was less than thrilled with the lull the Novans went through midway during the second half. Most of the downturn can be traced to the trapping schemes the Saints implemented; schemes that helped spark SRA to a 13-2 run that covered nearly five minutes.
“I’m sure the buzz is out there that Woonsocket doesn’t do well against traps, but we’ll work on it in practice,” said Ivey-Jones. “We’re going to see it again, there’s no doubt about that. We have to do a better job.”
Explaining how SRA was confusing Woonsocket, Sorrentine said, “We were trying to make them make a mistake.”
As bad as the first half results were for SRA, Sorrentine felt being down only 34-23 was somewhat of a break. The Saints came out of the locker cold, missing nine of their opening 10 shots. That allowed the visitors to surge out to an 11-2 lead as Woonsocket started off connecting on 4-of-8 shots from the field.
SRA ended up making just 7-of-27 shots in the half, committing 10 turnovers. “We had played terrible, but we were right there,” said Sorrentine. “We could have been down a lot more.”
“Overall I was pleased with the first half,” said Ivey-Jones. “When the second half comes, the team that’s down is always going to come with a better effort. You’ve got to make sure you match that effort. I always tell the kids that the first five minutes of the second half makes a difference.”
Circling the wagons, the Saints slowly began to chip away. Back-to-back 3-point plays from King and senior Nick Gaj (seven points) dwindled the deficit down to 45-41. Jones followed with a runner and Isaiah Scurry (five points, all coming from the foul line) with two free throws to briefly cool off the Saints. Elray Symonds responded with a trey to move SRA to within 49-45.
The game stayed within the five-point range before a hoop from Johnston and a free throw from King made it a three-point game. That’s where Jones took over, spurring the Novans to a 16-9 run to end the contest. 
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WOONSOCKET (66): Antjuan Jones 9 4-4 25, Lee Vazquez 5 2-2 13, James Suber 0 0-0 0, Nathan Geter 1 0-2 2, Tron Griffith 1 3-5 5, Semir Hasukic 0 4-4 4, Isaiah Scurry 0 5-8 5, Wilfredo Olmeda 4 4-4 12. Totals: 20 22-29 66.
ST. RAPHAEL (58): Avery King 8 5-6 22, Ray Johnston 5 2-4 12, Nick Gaj 2 3-3 7, Crhis Symonds 1 0-0 2, Jean Daniel-Roussel 0 0-0 0, Elray Symonds 1 3-4 6, Henry Johnson 1 0-0 2, Chris Dewornu 0 2-2 2, David Monteiro 0 0-0 0, Cesar Mejia 2 1-3 5. Totals: 20 16-22 66.
Halftime: W 34-23.
Three-point field goals: W 4 (Antjuan Jones 3, Lee Vazquez); SRA 2 (Avery King, Elray Symonds).
JV: SRA 66-52.