Classical's athleticism and La Salle's dominance: Division I boys basketball title game set
PROVIDENCE — The Division I boys basketball championship site is fittingly downtown in 2024.
The teams playing for the league’s crown? Two Providence schools.
Classical pulled away from Hendricken in the second half and La Salle quieted the league’s hot hand, Portsmouth, leaving Sunday with their Amica Mutual Pavilion tickets in hand.
The Rams’ triumph marks a third straight title appearance for La Salle, the league’s defending champions. Classical reached the final game two years ago, outlasting La Salle.
The championship is slated for 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Here is more on how top-seeded Classical (20-0) and No. 3 La Salle (18-3) reached the title game:
Classical’s turning point in an undefeated season
Jordan Duke hounded the ball, in the perimeter and in the paint.
The Classical star turned his sixth steal of the contest into a coast-to-coast finish, forcing his way through contact for a left-handed score. The Purple imposed their intentions in the second half against Hendricken as Duke flipped his seventh extra possession up the floor to Abdul Evans.
The back-to-back scores pushed the top seed ahead by 10 at the end of the third and the lead swelled to 18 early in the fourth as Classical ousted the Hawks, 59-47, in the semifinals on Sunday at Rhode Island College’s Murray Center.
“I'm not always going to be the one scoring offense, but I'm going to be the one to do the little stuff in-between,” Duke said. “The rebounds, steals, assists, all that. All you’ve got to do is be a piece of a team to be together.”
In Classical’s 12-0 run that spanned the third quarter intermission, the Purple sped up the Hawks. Classical’s athleticism that paced the undefeated season took over as the Purple (14 total steals) turned Hendricken over for seven straight points. Evans canned a left-wing triple for a 46-29 lead before the Hawks stopped the bleeding midway through the fourth.
Hendricken trounced Classical (69-39) in the divisional semifinals last season.
“It feels good; we took this game personal,” said Classical sophomore Devin Sone, who had a game-high 18 points. “It was just good to get revenge.”
Division II: How Lincoln and Tolman boys basketball seized title bids
In a perfect in-state season, Classical’s non-league loss against New London acted as a turning point. With a 67-63 final against a bigger squad, it showed the Purple they can play with lineups that outsize them.
“That game really gave me an idea of who we were,” Classical coach John Kavanagh said. “And then, once I saw how we can score [against larger rotations], and they've all had monster years, but [Sone] has really come into his own.”
Classical edged La Salle, 77-75, on Feb. 1 and then closed out the season with five blowout triumphs.
“It's going to take a lot of focus, more effort, more energy and just more execution,” Sone said of the championship game.
Azzy Harrison chipped in 13 for Classical. Mike D’Ambra paced Hendricken with 17.
La Salle closes it out
Portsmouth canned its first 3-pointer.
The league’s Cinderella survives on the trey and the 25-foot triple from the left wing to open the contest looked like the Patriots were ready for an upset again.
But the Rams answered with their own shooting performance.
La Salle’s Timoy Stitchell swished a 3 after the Patriots cut the second-half deficit to five. The Rams forced a turnover out of a timeout on the ensuing possession and Lucas Gillis drilled another triple.
La Salle ran the lead to 14 out of the halftime break on Thomas Malloy’s banked 3-pointer and cruised to a 72-48 win against the Patriots.
The Rams' Jacob Marcone scored a game-high 18 points.
“They didn't miss a shot,” La Salle coach Michael McParlin said of Portsmouth in the tournament. “Kudos to them, but we're just preaching to our guys, this is our team. We want to play defense, and we want to make it tough for the other team.”
The Rams had back-to-back blocks; on the second, Liam Simpson flipped to Malloy for a jumper in the lane, before the halftime horn as La Salle started to pull away in the frame. And then in the second half, La Salle built a 28-point advantage before the starters were pulled.
“There’s no Cinderella stories here,” La Salle’s Rex Zadrozny said. “We just had to move the ball and play our basketball.”
The Rams had roster turnover this winter and still managed to book a third straight title. A non-league trip to Maryland during Christmas break set the tone for the season.
“We played some really good teams down there,” McParlin said of the trip. “And I think these guys just started believing in each other and themselves and we just kept preaching getting better every day.”
In the early-February contest between Classical and La Salle, the Purple, at home, overcame an 8-point fourth-quarter deficit to remain perfect. La Salle used its size against the Purple, but Classical got back in the passing lanes, like the team did against Hendricken, and squeezed out the win.
“I think it's going to be a great game,” McParlin said. “I think the fans are really going to enjoy it, and again two great programs, two great teams, and a lot of great players on both sides of the ball.”
HENDRICKEN 47: James Caldarella 3-14 0-0 9; Dylan Lynch 2-9 0-0 4; Will Mascera 0-3 0-0 0; Christian Butera 4-6 2-4 10; Mike D’Ambra 7-15 0-0 17; Luke Pignataro 1-1 0-0 3; Will Cary 0-1 0-0 0; Jakob Reys 1-6 0-0 2; Rushaune Vilane 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 19-56 2-4 47.
CLASSICAL 59: Jordan Duke 3-7 1-2 7; Abdul Evans 3-12 0-0 8; Azzy Harrison 5-19 2-2 13; Devin Sone 4-8 8-12 18; Eliezer Delbrey 4-12 5-5 13; Ngulwwe Mukama 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-58 16-21 59.
Halftime — Classical 24-21. 3-pointers — Hendricken 7-23 (Caldarella 3-11, D’Ambra 3-7, Pignataro 1-1, Reyes 0-2, Butera 0-1, Lynch 0-1), Classical 5-24 (Evans 2-8, Sone 2-4, Harrison 1-9, Delbrey 0-3). Rebounds — Hendricken 42 (Caldarella 11), Classical 32 (Delbrey 10). Assists — Hendricken 13 (Caldarella 7), Classical 9 (Sone 3). Turnovers — Hendricken 20 (Caldarella 6), Classical 9 (Duke, Evans 3). Steals — Hendricken 3 (Three with 1), Classical 14 (Duke 7). Blocks — Hendricken 1 (Caldarella), Classical 4 (Duke 2).
PORTSMOUTH 48: Tom Hurd 3-7 1-3 8; Tyler Hurd 4-7 0-3 8; Adam Conheeny 7-25 0-2 16; Will Alves 0-5 2-2 2; Kyle Bielawa 2-14 2-2 8; Tristan Conheeny 1-1 0-0 3; Jordan Seale 0-0 0-0 0; Ben Lopes 1-2 0-0 3; Jack Casey 0-1 0-0 0; Jackson Hackley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-63 5-12 48.
LA SALLE 72: Jacob Marcone 7-11 0-0 18; Liam Simpson 3-7 3-8 9; Timoy Stitchell 5-12 2-2 13; Rex Zadrozny 4-7 1-2 9; Nick Tarro 0-0 0-0 0; Ali Abdur-Razzak 0-1 0-0 0; Lucas Gillis 4-9 0-0 10; Matthew Hayes 0-0 0-0 0; Thomas Malloy 5-7 0-1 11; Michael Poteau 1-2 0-0 2; Jodmar Duarte 0-1 0-0 0; Zachary Perullo 0-1 0-0 0; Jaden Givens 0-0 0-2 0. Totals: 29-58 6-15 72.
Halftime — La Salle, 32-23. 3-pointers — Portsmouth 7-31 (Bielawa 2-12, A. Conheeny 2-11 Tom Hurd 1-2, Lopes 1-2, T. Conheeny 1-1, Tyler Hurd 0-1, Alves 0-1, Casey 0-1), LaSalle 8-16 (Marcone 4-7, Gillis 2-6, Malloy 1-2, Stitchell 1-1). Rebounds — Portsmouth 27 (A. Conheeny 7), La Salle 51 (Zadrozy 12). Assists — Portsmouth 6 (Tyler Hurd 2), La Salle 13 (Stitchell 6). Turnovers — Portsmouth 7 (Tyler Hurd 3), La Salle 10 (Stitchell 3). Steals – Portsmouth 5 (Five with 1), La Salle 2 (Simpson, Stitchell). Blocks — Portsmouth 2 (Tom Hurd, Tyler Hurd); La Salle 7 (Zadrozny 3).
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
On X: @ByJacobRousseau
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Classical, La Salle for boys basketball title; here's how it happened
