By TERRY NAU
Sports editor
WOONSOCKET ---- Once again riding the hot scoring hand of junior guard Antjuan Jones, Woonsocket High remained unbeaten on Friday night, holding off equally unbeaten and four-time defending state champion Bishop Hendricken 62-59 before an estimated 750 fans packed inside the Villa Novans' gymnasium.
Jones, coming off a 29-point effort Wednesday night against East Providence, tossed in 24 points, none more important than a layup with 8 seconds left that gave the home team a 61-56 lead. Hendricken responded with a clutch three-pointer from Brendan Degnan four seconds later, then immediately fouled Lee Vasquez, sending the sophomore guard to the line with the game still hanging in the balance.
Vasquez missed the first freebie, then canned the second. Degnan's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the top of the backboard as the final horn sounded, capping a night of first-rate basketball by both teams.
"Woonsocket played a fantastic game," Hendricken coach Jamal Gomes said after talking to his players. "That No. 1 (Jones) has really improved as a player. Woonsocket made its shots and we didn't. Sometimes that happens on somebody else's turf. Great teams make up for bad shooting in other ways when the ball isn't falling. We didn't do that tonight."
The meeting of Division I's final two unbeaten squads brought fans from all over the state to this encounter. Both teams lived up to expectations in a first half that saw Woonsocket hold the upper hand, first by jumping out to a 9-2 lead, then falling behind 21-20 at the 4:35 mark, and answering Hendricken's spurt with a 10-0 run that featured Jones at his ball-hawking best, converting one steal into a layup and sinking two jumpers.
The half ended when Woonsocket's Brett Coderre, who held his team together with heady play and decisive press-breaking skills, sank a line-drive three-pointer at the buzzer for a 37-27 lead.
Hendricken, of course, would answer. The Hawks were the first team this team to match Woonsocket's size in the frontcourt. Junior forward Matt Barboza (from East Providence), at 6-7, was the tallest player on the floor. His defense held Woonsocket's 6-5 Mike LaPlante to just 8 points. Kevin McCarthy, a 6-foot-5 center, neutralized Woonsocket's 6-6 center, Mike Akinrola, holding him to six points on the night.
Hendricken's guards, Degnan and Billy Baron, also held size advantages over Jones and Vasquez, who made up for this shortcoming with their usual brand of pesky defensive play, creating turnovers at halfcourt, forcing the Hawks to expend energy getting the ball across the center line.
Hendricken came out strong in the second half, tying the game at 47 when Degnan drained a three from the left corner. Following a Woonsocket turnover, Baron drilled a three from the top of the key for a 50-47 lead with 6:30 left in regulation. The basket quieted Woonsocket's crowd, which waited to see how its team would respond to a rare second-half deficit.
Jones answered this moment of truth by driving to the basket and drawing two free throws, which the 88 percent foul shooter coolly sank.. Woonsocket's defense forced a turnover and Coderre (14 points) hit a huge three off a pass from LaPlante for a 52-50 lead. After Baron answered with a layup, Jones converted a soft jumper to make it 55-52 with three minutes left in the game.
Following a series of turnovers and missed shots by both sides, Degnan hit a two-pointer from just beyond the foul line to make it 55-54 with 1:23 left. Jones answered again with a fearless drive to the hoop for a 57-54 lead.
Baron got the ball in the left corner and leaned into LaPlante, trying to draw three free throws, but was instead called for an offensive foul by referee Mike Cabral. Degnan bailed his teammate out with a steal, then missed an open-look three-pointer.
That meant Hendricken had to foul to stay alive in the final 25 seconds. The Hawks sent the coolest customer in Woonsocket's lineup - Coderre - to the line and the senior sank both ends for a 59-54 lead. Baron's layup set the stage for a scrum at the other end of the court with Vasquez missing a layup and Jones picking up the loose ball in the lane and laying in two points with his left hand.
"Nobody blocked me out," the emerging junior star said after the game. "This was our best game of the season. We worked hard all night and in the end, we played well enough as a team to put this game away."
Woonsocket is now 13-0 overall and 8-0 in D-I play this season. Hendricken fell to 8-1 in the league. The two teams will not meet again during the regular season. If they meet again in the playoffs, most likely in the state championship game, the Hawks will get a second chance at showing why they are the defending champs.