Rogers Falls to North Providence in Division Championship

If the Division II basketball final was a Hollywood movie, then Divon Bailey’s play with 4:59 remaining in the second half would have been when the music swelled up and Rogers made a triumphant comeback.

At that point, with his team down by 10, Bailey came up with a loose ball at half court. He drove to the basket, and with two men in his face, elevated and threw down a thunderous dunk, getting fouled in the process and forcing an immediate timeout by North Providence.

Unfortunately for the Vikings though, the comeback ultimately came up short, as the Cougars held on for a 66-63 win.

Thanks to a hot night from the 3-point line from Cody Platt, Rogers got as close as 57-56 with 3:20 remaining. However, the Vikings couldn’t stop Austin Van Bemmelen, who finished with 23 points, mostly with daggers from the 3-point line and a cool efficiency from the free throw line.

After Rogers got the margin down to one, Van Bemmelen nailed a 3, pushing the lead back up to four points. A possession earlier, Platt missed a 3 that would have given Rogers a lead.

On defense, Christian Cancel drew a charge with 1:58 remaining, but on its next possession Rogers committed an over-the-back foul, leading to two free throws by the Cougars. Marc Washington cut the lead in half, 62-59 at 1:19, with a 3-point shot off the dribble.

Rogers gave a foul on defense, and the Cougars missed the frontend of a 1-and-1. However, a Rogers’ guard couldn’t convert on a drive toward the hoop, and Van Bemmelen hit both free throws after getting fouled, stretching the North Providence lead to five, 64-59, with 32.7 remaining.

The Cougars gave Rogers life though, committing a foul on a 3-point attempt by Washington with 18.3 seconds left. He sank the first two shots, and intentionally missed the third, as Rogers tried for a rebound.

The Vikings never got a chance at it though, as North Providence boxed out properly and quickly swung the ball to Van Bemmelen. He hit two more free throws with 15 seconds remaining.

Rogers hit a lay-up to get within three, 66-63, but without any timeouts, the clock ran out as the Cougars simply threw a half-court pass.

Washington and Reeyon Watts finished with 10 points each, and Bailey had 11. Also scoring were Cancel (6), Andrew McCarthy (2), Andre Savage (2), William Sizeland (2) and Trevor Morgera (1).

Although the win means a division championship title for North Providence, it had no effect on the seeds for this week’s state basketball tournament.

The times and dates could change for an emergency or weather, but as of Sunday night, Rogers is slated to face North Kingstown at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. All first round games are at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, 91 Fricker St., Providence.