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Smithfield senior Reilly Bennett, right, tries to make space as he heads toward the hoop, away from East Providence junior guard Trey Rezendes. Bennett scored 15 points in the Sentinels’ 71-66 loss.
Smithfield senior guard Chris Currie brings the ball down the court to set up a play. Guarding him is East Providence's Xavier Hazard. Currie scored 11 points in the 71-66 loss.
Smithfield senior Nick Collins goes for the layup while East Providence senior William Winfield tries to block his shot. Collins had scored 20 points in the Sentinels' thrilling Sweet 16 victory over Johnston last week.
Smithfield senior Reilly Bennett, right, tries to make space as he heads toward the hoop, away from East Providence junior guard Trey Rezendes. Bennett scored 15 points in the Sentinels’ 71-66 loss.
Smithfield senior guard Chris Currie brings the ball down the court to set up a play. Guarding him is East Providence's Xavier Hazard. Currie scored 11 points in the 71-66 loss.
Smithfield senior Nick Collins goes for the layup while East Providence senior William Winfield tries to block his shot. Collins had scored 20 points in the Sentinels' thrilling Sweet 16 victory over Johnston last week.
PROVIDENCE – The shots weren’t falling early for the Smithfield High boys’ basketball team in Sunday afternoon’s Elite Eight round of the Open State Tournament at Rhode Island College, and despite a hard-fought fourth quarter, the Sentinels came up short for the second straight year in the state quarterfinals, this time falling to East Providence, 71-66.
The Sentinels, who were the 14th seed in the tournament, end their season with a 12-10 record, while the Townies, who are 14-8 and the 11th seed, will advance to Saturday’s Final Four at URI’s Ryan Center and take on 2nd-seeded Bishop Hendricken.
The Townies, who suffered a 74-66 defeat to the Sentinels on Feb. 12, were quick and athletic in their rematch, using their ability to force turnovers and sink quick shots. The Sentinels were down by a 19-9 score after the first quarter, and it took most of the game from them to crawl out of their big deficit. At halftime, they trailed, 34-25, but East Providence kicked off the second half by scoring the first nine points.
But the Sentinels came to play in the fourth quarter. Their defense buckled down and their shots finally were sinking. Slowly, they cut their 18-point deficit to 57-52 with 3:12 to play in the game.
“They took some (missed) shots that allowed us to get back into the game,” Smithfield head coach Joe Bennett added. “We told our guys, ‘They are going to give us a chance to get back in the game,’ and they did, and we made the most of it.”
“I thought in the first half that we really had some opportunities, but we just didn’t move the basketball and get some of our better players involved in the offense,” he added. “It seemed like everyone was going one-on-one in the first half.”
But the Townies were always a step ahead of the Sentinels, and with a little over two minutes to play, they extended their lead to 62-54. Again, Smithfield battled back, and with 21.3 seconds left, senior guard Chris Currie hit a pair of free throws to make it a 67-63 game. But second later, the Townies responded with a pair of free throws from Xavier Hazard and held on for the victory.
“Obviously, (down) 18 points with nine minutes to go is tough, but I knew we would make a run,” Bennett said. “Obviously, I wished we kept it a little closer. (East Providence) is a good team. A lot of coaches picked them to win it all this year. We had our opportunities, but they were a little bit better today and kudos to them.”
Hazard scored 22 points, and Trey Rezendes also had a big game for E.P. with 21. Smithfield, meanwhile, had four players score in double digits: sophomore Shaun Dwyer (16 points), senior Reilly Bennett (15), sophomore Elijah Reed (14), and Currie (11).
“Shaun is a good player,” the Smithfield head coach noted. “He had moved to a starting position right before he hurt his ankle. We know he can score; Shaun is a tough player and he’s a good defender. He’s sneaky and he gets those steals for you. The same with Chris Currie. And that’s how we got back into it; we extended our defense, we pressured the ball a little bit more, and we rebounded better in the second half.”
The Sentinels had posted a thrilling 64-63 win over the third seed, Division II champion Johnston, in their Sweet 16 matchup last Thursday night, thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Currie. Senior Nick Collins also had a big game for Smithfield with 20 points.
Both Bennett and assistant coach Mike Tartaglia said that the ending of the game was bittersweet. Bennett’s son, Reilly, played in his last high school basketball game, while Tartaglia said this was the last group of kids he had coached in the youth leagues when they were in the fourth and fifth grades.
“I’m proud of these guys, coming back and returning to the Elite Eight after losing nine seniors and having only one and a half starters back,” Tartaglia added. “This team was able to find their identity, and they really played for each other. To get this far, again, is attributed to them. It’s a great group.”
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