In a battle of boys basketball heavyweights, Classical found a way to land the knockout punch
PROVIDENCE — It was a game of punches and counterpunches and in the end, Classical landed the final blow.
In a game featuring two of the state’s best teams, it was to be expected. There were moments in Thursday’s matchup when La Salle and the Purple each looked like the best team in Rhode Island. Classical just had the last one, overcoming an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit thanks to a defense that allowed the offense ice the 77-75 win in front of a sellout crowd. It was also a game in which the Purple's Azzy Harrison scored his 1,000th career point.
“It’s the first time they’ve come to the jungle in a minute so that’s why everybody was so hyped up,” said Harrison, referencing the Purple’s legendary home court. “That’s why everybody is so hyped up. It’s a big matchup.”
How big? With the win, Classical has put itself in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 seed for the Division I playoffs and, should that go well, the top seed in the state tournament.
The playoffs don’t start until later this month, but Thursday night's game certainly had a playoff feel. Here’s what else stood out in a game that might have been the best of the season:
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Classical’s defense came up 'big'
There’s really no secret to what the Purple do well. Their five starters are the most athletic group in the state and can torment you with their pressure that creates instant offense.
Classical is talented, but hardly invincible. La Salle exposed the Purple’s weakness, using its significant size advantage with Liam Simpson and Rex Zadrozny taking control in the paint and doing damage on the glass. In the third quarter, Jacob Marcone — all 6-foot-4 of him — got in the mix, creating defensive mismatches as he made it rain from deep.
With everything clicking, La Salle led by as much as eight in the fourth quarter and looked ready to finish the game off.
But then Classical flipped a switch.
Facing a double-digit deficit, the Purple picked up the intensity and rebounded with purpose. They started fronting the La Salle bigs and slowly chipped away at the lead. The Rams tried to counter the move, but suddenly got a little sloppy with the basketball. Classical was jumping into passing lanes and created what seemed like an endless supply of fast-break layup attempts for Jordan Duke and Eliezer Delbrey.
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“Final minutes, we just wanted to play defense and lock up,” Delbrey said. “No 3s, no getting in the paint, no easy baskets, getting our rebounds to go down court. It was just secure the ball.”
Delbrey was especially effective at the rim in the fourth quarter. He scored on back-to-back fastbreaks, including a 3-point play that put the Purple up by one.
“I had a lot of confidence,” Delbrey said. “In my mind, nobody could stop me; I could just blow by anybody. It was just the confidence I had.”
Harrison had a 'grand' finale
A varsity player since his freshman season, Harrison entered Thursday's game needing 22 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Problem was, he had no idea.
Coach John Kavanagh knew his senior was going to reach the mark sometime this season, but he never mentioned it to Harrison once. He thought about telling him before Thursday's game, but didn’t want Harrison distracted.
Up 73-72 with 50 seconds left, Harrison knocked down a fadeaway jumper to give himself 21 for the night. Classical went to work on defense and forced La Salle to grind to get points. The Rams finally did with 26 seconds left on a two-handed dunk by Zadrozny, but now needed to foul to extend the game.
After breaking the La Salle press, Duke handed off to Harrison, who put the ball on his left hip and waited for the foul to come. With four fouls, Simpson didn’t want to foul out of the game and after 14 seconds, Terrence Campbell fouled Harrison.
The Rams needed one more foul to get Classical to the line. The inbound pass went to Harrison and he was immediately fouled and had to make free throws that were important to the game and to himself, even if he didn’t know it.
After missing the first, Harrison hit the second and the game was paused. Purple players came off the bench to celebrate as Kavanaugh yelled to the crowd that Harrison was a 1,000-point scorer.
“I had no idea, so when they did that and started jumping up and down I was surprised,” Harrison said. “I was like ‘I have 1,000 points? What the heck?’ ”
Harrison tried to enjoy the moment, but there was still some basketball to play.
With 10 seconds left, Timoy Stitchell took the inbound and flew up the court. Delbrey was all over Marcone, so Stitchell took and missed an off-balanced 3. Simpson rebounded but was fouled. After missing the first, he made the second. Classical inbounded to Duke, who was fouled and made his first before missing his second, leaving no time for a full-court heave.
“We were getting too hyped early before the game was even over,” Harrison said. “I was like ‘calm down, we still have to win the game.’ ”
“Our defense had us,” Delbrey said. “We never had that losing mentality.”
La Salle took it in stride
After the game, the Rams were hardly shaken. Thursday was a battle, but it wasn’t a game that would define the season or the team’s postseason hopes.
“Before the game started we just said it was about getting better,” Zadrozny said. “It didn’t matter win or lose. It was an experience in this atmosphere and I think we put up a good fight.”
It was more than good.
There were moments when the Rams looked unstoppable. Zadrozny and Simpson were monsters. Marcone couldn’t miss. Stitchell was all over the court. Contributions came from every single player who stepped on the court. It looked like championship basketball.
But the team they were playing had the same type of moments.
“It was a game of runs,” Zadrozny said. “I think we did a pretty good job of dealing with it, but we could have dealt with it better, obviously.”
La Salle is in firm control of its subdivision and barring disaster, should be able to finish as one of the top four seeds for the D-I tournament. The Rams are off until Monday when they host Smithfield, but what happened on Thursday is only going to help them.
“We’re a young team and we’ll learn from it,” Zadrozny said. “We knew we were playing for the No. 1 seed, but overall this is all about getting better.”
Can Classical close?
Thursday’s win didn’t make it official mathematically, but provided the Purple take care of business in their final three games, they will be the No. 1 seed in the D-I tournament.
Avoiding La Salle and Barrington in the semifinals would be beneficial because both teams have a size advantage that could give Classical problems. A potential lineup with Hendricken isn’t exactly a dream either considering the teams’ postseason history.
Classical’s goals won’t change. It’s one game at a time and the Purple know what they need to do to finish strong.
“Keep trusting each other,” Delbrey said. “Keep our team chemistry and keep believing in ourselves.”
“We’re going to keep playing because everybody is shooting their best shot at us so we have to adjust,” Harrison said. “We haven’t even played our best game yet.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Classical boys basketball team beats La Salle in battle of two of RI's best
