Boys Basketball: Cranston East Cruises to Victory against Burrillville

Cranston East traveled to Burrillville on Friday evening to face the Broncos in the first game of the season for both squads. The Thunderbolts got off to hot start with a 16-1 run and the game was out of reach for Burrillville, falling 60-29 to the Bolts.

The Thunderbolts implemented the full court press early and got three steals, all of which led to fast break points. They also established 6'6" Senior Center Patrick Marchand inside early, as he got an early bucket and passed out of a double team nicely for an assist. All this coupled with sound defensive rebounding from Marchand and Forward Albert DeRobbio propelled the Bolts to a 16-1 advantage with 11 minutes left in the first half.

"We just wanted to come out and play tough defense and try to get some fast break points. And try to get out to a nice lead early," DeRobbio said.

Following a Broncos timeout, Tyler Sonier knocked down a jumper for the first basket from the field for Burrillville. Cranston East fell in love with the perimeter game for the next five minutes and went cold from the field. Burrilville did a nice job of denying entry passes to Marchand and Cranston East seemed content to keep jacking up threes. This allowed the Broncos to cut into the deficit slightly, trailing 23-12 with 6:23 to play in the half. Broncos Guard Matt Morse had 7 points and an assist in the 11-6 run.

"We were getting too comfortable and we were feeling like our lead was good. But we always have to play like we're down by twenty and not up by twenty," DeRobbio said.

The Thunderbolts would respond in the final six minutes, outscoring Burrillvile 7-2. DeRobbio knocked down a triple and had an assist in the closing minutes, as the half ended with Cranston East leading 30-14. 

Cranston East made a statement coming out of halftime, stealing the ball on three consecutive Burrillville possessions, all leading to fast break points. Christopher Kpahn had the first steal and took the bump, got the bucket, and finished the three-point play at the line. Lemuel Shepard then had steals and lay-ups on back to back possessions. The 7-0 run for the Bolts, put the game out of reach, with Cranston East leading by 23. 

Cranston East Coach William Coughlin was able to rest his starters and get all his players into the game. The lead would grow until the final buzzer, as Cranston East defeated Burrillville 60-29.

The Thunderbolts went into a little bit of funk in the first half, but for the vast majority of the game, dominated on both ends of the floor. Their defense and rebounding led to easy offense and a blowout victory.

Burrillville falls to 0-1 with the loss and will try to get into the win column on Monday, when they host Lincoln.

Cranston East will try to keep the ball rolling on Monday when they face a tough Division II opponent, in Tiverton.

"We need to forget about the win and move on to Monday. Monday we've got a tough one in Tiverton. They got to the Division II finals last year so, we just have to come out and play like we did tonight and hopefully get a win," Cranston East Center Patrick Marchand said. 

Top Scorers:

Cranston East

DeRobbio (10)

Kpahn (10)

Isom (7)

Marchand (6)

Burrillville

Morse (10)

Gareau (9)