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By BRENDAN MCGAIR Sports writer SOUTH KINGSTOWN -– There were never any doubts whether Woonsocket High could hang with Bishop Hendricken High. The Villa Novans dispelled all notions when they handed the Hawks their only in-state loss this season.
It was a matter of whether Woonsocket had enough left in the tank to finish what was started.
For 36 minutes and change, the Villa Novans went toe-to-toe with Rhode Island basketball’s version of Goliath, pushing the Hawks to the brink. Turns out Hendricken head coach Jamal Gomes had one more trump card up his sleeve, one that turns out Woonsocket had all sorts of fits trying to figure out.
The Hawks cranked up the pressure, which in turn helped put the gamely Villa Novans on ice. Hendricken’s fullcourt trapping scheme bothered Woonsocket towards the tail end of regulation and again in overtime. That’s a big reason why the Hawks can now call themselves five-time defending state champions, this after surviving a 67-64 verdict Sunday night at the Ryan Center.
Gomes didn’t show everything to Woonsocket in January’s meeting, which is perhaps why the Villa Novans were caught off guard by the ball pressure. Woonsocket turned the ball over 21 times, five coming in the four-minute overtime session that was sealed with four clinching free throws from junior Billy Baron, whose MVP performance entailed 26 points, five rebounds and four steals.
“The first time we played Woonsocket, we really didn’t show a lot of pressure. We knew going into this game we had it in our back pocket,” said Gomes. “When we showed it in the first half, they broke it. But when we got down seven or eight, we had no choice but to get out and force traps and get some baskets in transition.”
Woonsocket coach Kyle Ivey-Jones, who virtually went with his entire starting group of Mike LaPlante (team-best 18 points), Mike Akinrola 12 points, 19 rebounds), Brett Coderre, Antjuan Jones (10 points) and Lee Vazquez, didn’t disagree that the Hawks’ press gave his club fits.
“We didn’t execute on the press. We didn’t run our press break like we should have,” said Ivey-Jones. “We had some costly turnovers that we shouldn’t have had. Unfortunately that was the difference.”
“We weren’t setting good screens and people just weren’t getting open,” said Coderre, a senior who finished the contest with 15 points and seven rebounds. “When we got open, we had no problem breaking the press.”
Things were shaping up in Woonsocket’s favor. After weathering some anxious moments early in the second half (Hendricken pulled ahead 36-35 with 11:22 left), the Novans went up by eight with 9:05 remaining.
Deciding that is was time to speed up the game, Gomes extending the Hawks’ defense. The first main culprit of the pressure came with 1:16 remaining in the second half when Jones had the ball bounce off his foot. Kevin McCartney (12 points) hit a shot to tie the game at 53-all.
Akinrola was in line for a three-point play, but couldn’t nail the free throw. McCartney delivered again, tying the game at 55-all.
Woonsocket struck first in the extra session as Coderre scored six seconds in. Baron hit a reverse layin to tie the score for the 10th time, but Akinrola followed up a LaPlante miss to put Woonsocket back up a duce, 59-57.
The two teams traded free throws before Hendricken started to apply the finishing touches. The Hawks missed four consecutive free throws, but all was forgiven when Brendan Degnan (16 points on 5-of-24 shooting) nailed a triple from the corner, putting the Hawks up one, 63-62, with 1:01 remaining.
Tim Harmon, who was on the bench for 36 minutes, came in after Akrinola picked up his fifth foul. The senior forward drilled two clutch free throws to give Woonsocket what turns would be its final lead, 64-63, with 54.4 ticks to go.
From that it point it was all Baron. Not only did the Hendricken junior convert all his freebies, but he also stepped in front of an intended pass to Coderre, which resulted in two made free throws.
Woonsocket’s last chance ended up going into Jones’ hands. Jones got a clean look at a game-tying three, but the shot bounced off the front rim as the horn sounded.
“I can not be disappointed with the job they did,” said Ivey-Jones. “We had a chance to win it, and that’s all I asked.”
The Novans couldn’t have asked for a better start, LaPlante serving as the catalyst. Back-to-back treys from Coderre and LaPlante pushed Woonsocket ahead 18-11. LaPlante then followed up an Akinrola miss with a thunderous two-handed slam, giving the underdog Novans a seven-point lead.
Woonsocket maintained its cushion over the next few minutes, but trouble struck when Jones, the team’s leading scorer, picked up his second foul at 6:52. Ivey-Jones pulled the junior guard, but Jones didn’t stay on the bench for long. He returned nearly two minutes later.
Hendricken mustered a late charge before the half, closing to within a basket after Baron banked in a shot, 28-26. Woonsocket quickly responded on a Vazquez 3-pointer to take a five-cushion into the break.
LaPlante was nearly single-handily taking down the Hawks, scoring 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The high-rising sophomore only managed five points in the second half and overtime.
“I wouldn’t say [Hendricken took LaPlante] away,” said Ivey-Jones. “For the most part we got what we wanted; couldn’t ask for too much more.”
“LaPlante comes out the first five minutes on fire, but I think our pressure wore them down,” said Gomes. “From top to bottom, Woonsocket is a top notch act. I'm fortunate, this team is very fortunate, to come out with the win against such a great team like Woonsocket.”
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WOONSOCKET (64): Antjuan Jones 4 1-2 10, Lee Vazquez 3 0-0 7, Brett Coderre 6 1-3 15, Mike LaPlante 7 2-2 18, Mike Akinrola 5 2-4 12, Prince Artey 0 0-0 0, Tim Harmon 0 2-2 2. Totals: 25 8-13 64.
HENDRICKEN (67): Nicholas Manning 3 3-5 9, Billy Baron 9 7-7 26, Brendan Degnan 5 3-4 16, Kevin McCartney 6 0-2 12, Nicholas Maglio 0 0-0 0, Brandford Sowah 0 0-0 0, Sean Murray 0 0-2 0. Totals: 24 15-22 67.
Halftime: W 31-26.
End of Regulation: 55-55.
Three-point field goals: W 6 (Michael LaPlante 2, Brett Coderre 2, Antjuan Jones, Lee Vazquez); H 4 (Brendan Degnan 3, Billy Baron).
All-Tournament Team
Mason Kenney (North Kingstown), Ethan Gaye (Mount Pleasant), Mike Akinrola (Woonsocket), Brendan Degnan (Hendricken), Kevin McCartney (Hendricken).
Outstanding Players
Mike LaPlante (Woonsocket), Billy Baron (Hendricken).
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