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By BRENDAN MCGAIR For The Call PAWTUCKET — The Wellness Center was christened with the first athletic activity of any kind Friday night. The St. Raphael Academy team that took the floor also featured a new wrinkle, showing a chameleon side in adapting to their more spacious surroundings.
Veteran SRA head coach Tom “Saar” Sorrentine knows that by moving down the street, the Saints had no choice but to change their ways. No longer was playing full-throttle/foot-on-the-accelerator-at-all-times, which defined the team’s play at their “old” cramped court, going to be an option all the time.
The Saints promise that they will still run once they become more comfortable on the fresh hardwood, but when there’s a significant post presence like a Jeff Holmes lurking, playing at half speed doesn’t seem like a bad fallback option.
Holmes picked up were he left off last season, scoring 18 points and pulled down 20 rebounds as St. Raphael ran away from Lincoln, 54-38, in a non-league encounter.
Though some of players expressed their desire to spread their wings, Sorrentine believes that playing at half speed suits the Saints best at this present juncture. “We have new kids, so we’re learning,” said Sorrentine. “We can’t play with the same style like we did in the other gym; we have to play with a different style.”
The Saints hardly ran on this night, largely because Holmes was so dominant inside. He had the hot hand in the first half, scoring 11 straight points on a series of spin moves and put backs. What was encouraging
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was that Holmes was lively and active, showing zero signs of the knee problems that hindered him for much of last season.
“He’s got skills,” said Sorrentine.
Lincoln did get off to an encouraging start, jumping out to an early 12-6 lead. Then the lid was sealed shut for the Lions, which resulted in some cold shooting and few baskets.
The Lions missed 11 shots at one point in the first half and things didn’t get much better in the second half. Yet as is often the case with non-leaguers, you hope to find some answers to the questions you had coming in.
Even though the offensive fireworks fizzled out, Lincoln head coach Kent Crooks was able to take away something. All 12 of Aaron Sabatino’s points came in the first half while Ethan Cloutier led the Lions with 14 points.
“We talked about executing for 32 minutes,” said Crooks. “I thought that Matt Sorkin was able to give us some nice ball pressure.”
Crooks talked about playing Sorkin alongside starting point guard Willie Fay in upcoming games. Though Fay didn’t have his best game on Friday, finishing with just six points, Crooks said that much is expected from the tri-captain this winter.
“When you put two of those water bugs out there,” said Crooks, meaning Sorkin and Fay. “we’ll get good ball pressure.
“Willie knows he has to both score and distribute,” Crooks continued. “He’s a captain and has been waiting a number of years. Not only does he have to direct the offense, but he has to look for his shot. He’s got to become more of an offensive factor, which he was in the Summer League. I think you’re going to see good things out of Willie.”
The challenge for Sorrentine and the Saints is to find bodies who can replace the 35 points lost by Antone Gray (graduated) and Corey Wright Jr. (transfer). Holmes gives SRA a sturdy option down on the blocks, but where the points on the perimeter come from could be from a number of candidates.
On Friday, Justin Maneca answered the bell. Before featuring a steady diet of Holmes, the Saints rode the hot outside shooting from Maneca, who canned three triples in the opening eight minutes.
Just as the halftime horn was about to sound, Maneca (game-high 21 points) let loose a three at the top of the key, sinking the basket to give the Saints a 10-point advantage at halftime. Maneca’s fifth and final trey came with 4:44 to play, giving SRA a 51-27 lead.
“He made some shots and was getting some good looks,” said Sorrentine about Maneca.
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LINCOLN (38): Steve Ricci 1 0-0 2, Willie Fay 3 0-2 6, Matt Sorkin 0 0-0 0, Kevin Rennick 0 0-0 0, Ethan Cloutier 3 5-7 14, Alex Philhowser 0 0-0 0, Aaron Sabatino 4 1-4 12, Jordan Wilson 1 2-6 4, Shazeb Kazi 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 8-19 38.
SRA (54): Mike Holland 1 0-0 3, Jeff Holmes 8 2-4 18, Doug Hopper 0 1-2 1, Justin Maneca 8 0-0 21, Jimmy McKnight 3 0-0 8, Tesfa Scott 0 0-0 0, Chris Dewornu 0 0-0 0, Yedelby Santos 0 0-0 0, Elray Symonds 0 0-0 0, Jean Roussel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 4-8 54.
Halftime: SRA 33-23.
Three-point field goals: L 6 (Aaron Sabatino 3, Ethan Cloutier 3); SRA 8 (Justin Maneca 5, Jimmy McKnight 2, Mike Holland).
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