EAST PROVIDENCE — The reigning champion and runner-up regained their tickets to the title game in a Division III semifinal doubleheader in East Providence.
North Providence, the league's defending champion, and Juanita Sanchez, last year's runner-up, brought their playoff experience to bear in the Final Four. The Cougars sent Moses Brown late and the Cavaliers outscored Central Falls.
The title fight rematch is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Read below to learn more about how the top seed earned the title bid.
North Providence's execution was perfect.
Jeremiah Lenas was lost in the North Providence stacks.
Third on the Cougars' line approach, Lenas broke hard toward the hoop, and Kyle Prete sent a perfect pass over the guard's head from the sideline on an out-of-bounds play. Lenas slammed a defender to the rim, giving North Providence a three-point lead late in the game.
Lenas and Prete then teamed up again. On the ensuing possession, the two forced a Moses Brown turnover for the final try with 12 seconds left. In Saturday's final game in East Providence, the reigning division champion Cougars battled to a 40-35 final, giving the Quakers no chance of tying the game.
“We're trying to put them in a situation to be successful, which is at least what they've done before,” North Providence coach Fernando Torres said of the outside play. “It's not something brand new that they haven't seen, it's something we've practiced and repeated.”
North Providence (15-1) didn't feel the pressure of being a No. 1 seed last year. They entered the Division III boys basketball tournament in fifth place, with an underdog team defeating top-ranked North Smithfield. But this season, the Cougars were the top-ranked team in the league, and everyone was doing everything they could to get them.
“It's a small thing in a tough environment and a tough crowd,” Lenas said of this year's success. “Either steal a little bit quickly or he’ll increase it by 1%…and we’ve been there before and we know what to do.”
Related:North Providence didn't need motivation, and now it can start healing
Fourth-ranked Moses Brown was on the verge of pulling a comeback card against North Providence, but the Cougars ran through the final stages led by Ryan Rodriguez's 14 points and Renas' tip-in 11 points.
Despite taking the top seed, the Cougars lost 68-52 to Juanita Sanchez on Feb. 7.
“It's going to be a dogfight,” Prete said of the championship. “It's going to come down to who can shoot, who can defend. And I'm going to put ourselves on top, we have it. [championship] We have the experience, Juanita too, we have that experience so we can go back-to-back. ”
With contrasting offensive lines, the Cougars will need to slow down Juanita's transition efforts.
“I wouldn't be surprised if we had another low-scoring game, but that's fine,” Torres said. “We're going to do what we have to do defensively and offensively we're going to play with confidence and see what we can do. But me and the kids are excited.”
Cavaliers advance to championship
On Kyle Delves' first basket, the freshman coasted and finished above the right rim.
He attempted to drive again on his second try, but was fouled in the act and sent to the line. But Derbez only needed the first two tries. Juanita Sanchez was more athletic than Central Falls and Delves, leading the field with 27 points in a show-stopping game that helped the Cavaliers win 58-47 in the semifinals.
Learn more about Delves:Kyle Derbez may have had the best debut in RI hoops history.He didn't have a bad encore either.
Juanita Sanchez is back in the championship game and looking to beat the Cougars, who lost in the title game to North Providence last winter.
“They're the No. 1 team in the district for a reason, so we know we have our hands full,” Juanita Sanchez coach Mark Alexander said. “We played them earlier in the season, so we're going to have to come with the same intensity. And for us, it's been defense all year long, so if we play defense like we did today, it's going to be a great game. .”
Delves entered the break late in the first half and hit a one-handed slam with the Cavaliers leading 32-16 going into the break. The Warriors, led by Moises Maldonand's 19 points, cut the deficit to seven points with 3:45 remaining, but Derbez got into the paint and hit a floater for a 10-point lead.
Delbs scored 12 points in the second quarter, including three consecutive shots from the left side, taking a 22-8 lead. The freshman guard nearly cramped up in the fourth frame, but still managed a game-high effortlessly. He will now turn his sights on Juanita Sanchez to win the title for the first time since 2014 and third overall.
“He has a great IQ and a great feel for the game,” Alexander said of Derbez. “He can pass the ball and is an overall good player. We're lucky to have him.”
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
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