Villa Novans get revenge

Robinson-O’Hagan leads squad over Cumberland

CUMBERLAND – Woonsocket High boys’ basketball head coach T.J. Ciolfi was determined to not let history repeat itself.

With less than half an hour to go before Friday night’s contest against Cumberland at the Wellness Center, Ciolfi informed his players that a 2-3 zone defense would be deployed with the championship of the 46th annual The Roadshow/Boys & Girls Club of Northern Rhode Island Tournament at stake.

The zone was a fresh twist to the Clippers, who just two weeks ago defeated the Novans by nine points in a game that counted in the Division I standings. Woonsocket succeeded in taking Cumberland out of its comfort zone en route to sailing to a 72-50 win. It’s the first post-Christmas title in this particular tournament for the Villa Novans since 2013. The dominating performance also put the brakes on Cumberland’s undefeated season (6-1).

Said Ciolfi, “I think they were one of three unbeaten teams left in the state, but we knew we had to play as hard as we could for as long as we could. I thought it was a total team win.”

“They came to play. They wanted it more, but it’s a game we can learn a lot from. This was a good lesson for us,” said CHS head coach Gary Reedy.

One night after pumping in 40 points against Tolman, Woonsocket senior Dwayne Robinson O-Hagan punctuated his tournament MVP status with a 19-point showing against the Clippers. WHS junior Ousmane Kourouma controlled the action down low and seemed to gain more confidence as the game went along. He finished with 18 points.

“His hands are everywhere and he defends without fouling,” said Ciolfi.

The winners also received 12 points off the bench from senior Justo Colon and 10 points from senior Denzel Lyles. Cumberland senior Jackson Zancan was his team’s lone double-figure scorer with 15 points.

Reedy and Ciolfi called off the dogs with 4:54 left and Woonsocket up a by a wide margin (67-44). How it got to be so one-sided was the result of a defensive scheme that was determined to hold Jackson Zncan at bay. Freshman Colin Mories (seven points) did have some nice moments in the first half, but the Clippers committed nine turnovers and found themselves trailing 34-25 at the break.

Woonsocket’s lead grew to double digits after Kourouma scored on the first possession of the second half. Cumberland was unable to close the gap to 10 or fewer points the rest of the way. Robinson-O’Hagan scored six straight points that pushed his team’s lead to 56-38 with 8:32 left. Kourouma soon followed with two hoops that increased the lead to 65-43.

When Colon soared in for a layup that capped off an 18-5 run, Reedy turned to his bench and summoned his reserves.

“If we play as a team, we’re unstoppable. It’s as simple as that,” said Robinson-O’Hagan.

In the consolation game, Lincoln received five three-pointers and 21 points from junior Cody Anter to outlast Tolman, 69-63. The Lions were also supported by 14 points apiece from senior Brett Bessette and junior Josh Jahnz. For the Tigers, senior Justin Carvalho led all scorers with 22 points. (Championship game) WOONSOCKET (72): Denzel Lyles 2 5-7 10, Dwayne Robinson- O’Hagan 8 0-0 19, Marcus Harmon 1 0-0 2, Jossue Hernandez 2 0-0 4, Ousmane Kourouma 8 2-3 18, Justo Colon 5 1-2 12, Eric Agyemang 1 0-0 2, Zachary Smith 0 0-0 0, Justus McLaurin 1 0-0 2, Jacob Bissonnette 1 0-0 3, Alfusatny Saine 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 8-12 72. CUMBERLAND (50): Dante Aviles-Santos 2 1-2, Will Andrews 2 0-0 4, Jackson Zancan 5 4-7 15, Brendan Raftery 4 0-1 8, Colin Mories 3 0-0 7, Shane Meerbott 0-0 0, Seth Anderson 2 1-1 5, Ben Keeler 0 0-0 0, Jacob Morey 1 0-0 3, Mason Matos 0 0-0 0, Cory Rodrigues 0 0-0 0, Jackson Walsh 1 0-0 3, Shane Calabro 0 0-0 0 . Totals: 20 6-11 50.

Halftime: W 34-25.

Three-point field goals: W 6 ( Dwayne Robinson- O’Hagan 3, Denzel Lyles, Justo Colon, Jacob Bissonnette); C 4 (Jackson Zancan, Colin Mories, Jackson Walsh, Jacob Morey).

(Consolation game)

TOLMAN (63): Izaiah Rivera-Lopez 4 0-0 9, Justin Carvalho 9 4-7 22, Justin Klemanchuck 0 0-0 0, Brandson Mesquita 3 0-0 6, Salim Chakhsi 2 1-2 5, Brian Rivera 1 0-0 2, Isai Prince 3 2-2 8, Stanley Barbosa 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 7-13 63.

LINCOLN (69): Declan Quinn 2 2-2 6, Tyler McNulty 1 0-0 3, Brett Bessette 4 5-6 14, Cody Anter 8 0-0 21, Josh Jahnz 4 6-7 14, Aaron DeSousa 2 0-0 4, Nick Villanova 0 0-0 0, Marty Gaughan 0 0-0 0, Octavio Britto 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 15-17 69. Halftime: L 31-26.

Three-point field goals: T 5 (Stanley Barbosa 3, Izaiah Rivera-Lopez, Justin Carvalho); L 7 (Cody Anter 5, Tyler McNulty, Brett Bessette).

Photos by Ernest A. Brown Woonsocket senior wing Dwayne Robinson-O’Hagan, above shooting over Cumberland’s Jackson Zancan (24), was named the Roadshow tournament MVP after guiding t he Villa Novans to a wire-to-wire victory over Brandon Raftery (33, below) and the previously-unbeaten Clippers Friday.

Photos by Ernest A. Brown A day after scoring 40 points to lead the Villa Novans into the Roadshow final, Woonsocket senior Dwayne Robinson-O’Hagan helped hand Cumberland its first defeat of the season.

Photo by Ernest A. Brown Cumberland freshman wing Colin Mories (40) attempts to make a pass to the wing during the first half of the Clippers’ defeat to Woonsocket in the Roadshow title game Friday night.