First-year head coach James Sorrentine, left, and the Shea High players pose for a picture with the Donaldson-Lynch Memorial Basketball Tournament championship trophy last Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. The Raiders, who defeated St. Raphael Academy in the title game, 60-39, have now won the last four tournaments.
The Donaldson-Lynch Memorial Basketball Tournament boys' All-Tournament team, from left, Shea #3 Malik Matanmi, Central Falls #4 Ian Grace, Tolman #32 Isiah Gois, St. Raphael Academy #15 Ian Bing and Shea #32 Emmanuel Ibidapo, also the tournament's MVP.
Shea High School senior #4 Jason Smith Jr. steals the ball from St. Raphael Academy #5 D Lopes, who loses his footing and crashes to the ground. Smith Jr. had one point in the 60-39 win over the Saints.
First-year head coach James Sorrentine, left, and the Shea High players pose for a picture with the Donaldson-Lynch Memorial Basketball Tournament championship trophy last Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. The Raiders, who defeated St. Raphael Academy in the title game, 60-39, have now won the last four tournaments.
The Donaldson-Lynch Memorial Basketball Tournament boys' All-Tournament team, from left, Shea #3 Malik Matanmi, Central Falls #4 Ian Grace, Tolman #32 Isiah Gois, St. Raphael Academy #15 Ian Bing and Shea #32 Emmanuel Ibidapo, also the tournament's MVP.
Shea High School senior #4 Jason Smith Jr. steals the ball from St. Raphael Academy #5 D Lopes, who loses his footing and crashes to the ground. Smith Jr. had one point in the 60-39 win over the Saints.
PAWTUCKET – The Shea High boys’ basketball team defeated St. Raphael Academy, 60-39, last Saturday night to claim its fourth straight Donaldson-Lynch Memorial Basketball Tournament championship at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket.
And this year, something unique happened. Shea’s new head coach, James Sorrentine, not only experienced the thrill of winning a tournament title as a head coach, but he also captured the championship as a player for the Saints in the early 2000s and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in 2003.
“I actually grew up playing at the Boys Club when I was much younger before I played in the Lynch Tournament,” Sorrentine added. “It’s good to be back here, and I’m glad we could come away with the championship. These kids have just working so hard and have been amazing. They’ve been listening to what we’ve been preaching. I’m happy for them. They are all excited. It was a great win tonight.”
The Raiders kicked off the tournament last Thursday night with a 61-49 win over Central Falls, while the Saints defeated Tolman, 67-59. That brought the two teams back to the tournament finals again. The Saints had been the tourney champs from 2015-2017, but the Raiders, who were led by point guard Erickson Bans, took over in 2018.
Scoring 14 points each in last Saturday’s title game were two returning players, junior forward Emmanuel Ibidapo, who was named the tournament’s MVP, and senior forward Malik Matanmi.
Shea began the game with a 7-0 run that saw junior guard Devontae Cruz highlight it with a steal, a layup, and a three-pointer. Cruz ended the night with eight points.
The Saints came back to tie the score, as sophomore Ian Bing was a presence under the net, scooping up rebounds and putting the ball back up for the buckets. Nathan Hernandez stole the ball from Cruz and went to senior Niyontsinzi White for the game-tying basket.
From there, the Saints took over and finished the first quarter with a 17-11 lead, but in the second quarter, SRA was held to just three points, and the Raiders were able to take a 24-20 lead into halftime. They not only got key baskets from Ibidapo and Matanmi, but also three-pointers from freshman forward Jayden Sanchez and junior guard Keondre Silva.
The Saints tried to get back into the game in the third quarter, but the Raiders wouldn’t allow it, as they brought a 43-33 lead into the final eight minutes. Shea then went on an 11-0 run in the fourth to extend their lead to 54-33 and take control of the game.
The Saints received balanced scoring from White, who scored 12; Bing, who added 11, and seniors Jayden Cardoso and Scott Palardy, who each finished with eight. Bing, Ibidapo, Matanmi, Central Falls senior guard Ian Grace, and Tolman junior forward Isaiah Gois were named to the All-Tournament team.
While the other Pawtucket schools saw coaching changes, Ruben Garces stayed with the Saints. Tolman and Shea swapped coaches, as both former head coaches stepped down. Sorrentine, who had been an assistant at Tolman, has taken over as the Shea head coach, and Mike Neal Jr., who was an assistant at Shea, is now at Tolman.
“I was born and raised in Pawtucket, so I’m Pawtucket through and through,” Sorrentine added. “I love the community and I love these kids, and when the opportunity (to become Shea’s head coach) presented itself, I jumped right on it.”
Sorrentine takes over for Stephen DeMeo, who led Shea to a Division II championship last year. The Raiders then lost to Rogers in the quarterfinals of the RIIL’s Open Tournament.
“It’s a work in progress,” Sorrentine said about his team so far. “We lost a lot of seniors from last year and it’s all about the work. So far, we have been putting in a lot of good work, and like I said, the guys have been listening and paying attention to what we’re doing. It’s going to be a lot of work to get back to that point. It’s hard to win a championship.”
All three Pawtucket teams are still playing in D-II, and Sorrentine said that it is a daily process for them that they will take one day at a time, but the goal is to return to the playoffs.
With the exchange of coaches, the Tolman-Shea matchup will be a lot more interesting this season, but Sorrentine said that it’s always a good game.
“The crosstown rivalry is always a good thing,” he said. “It brings a lot of energy in those games, and it brings the community out. We’ll be excited about that one.”
The Raiders will head to Coventry to face the Oakers on Thursday and then host Tolman on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Saints, meanwhile, will host Lincoln on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.
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