Video: Miracle Season Ends for Tigers in 58-47 Loss to Saints

Shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday, the clock struck midnight for the Tiverton High School boys’ basketball team.

The Tigers’ improbable run to the threshold of Rhode Island high school hoop supremacy came to a screeching halt when St. Raphael’s Academy of Pawtucket posted a 58-47 victory in the championship game of the 2011 Credit Union State Boys’ Basketball Championship in Kingston at the University of Rhode Island's Ryan Center.

Super-quick sophomore point guard Charles Correa scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and teammates Cesar Mejia (13) and Trevor Vasey (11) also finished in double digits as the Saints erased a five-point halftime deficit with a 13-6 streak opening the second half, and used a 12-2 blitz in the closing two minutes to seal their first state title in nine years.

Ben Bergandy (all in the opening period) and Gunnar Bjornson (all in the second session) topped Tiverton with 15 points apiece and Alex Rosa added 8 points, but the Tigers simply ran out of gas against the tall, long, strong, quick and deep Division I Saints, who concluded the 2010-11 season with an 18-8 record. Division II Tiverton finished at 20-8 after eliminating Division I powers LaSalle Academy, Bishop Hendricken High School and Central High School in the first three rounds of the state championship.

“It’s disappointing, but I have to give St. Ray’s a lot of credit because they played tremendous defense tonight,” Tiverton Coach Jerry Arcouette said following the contest. “They made it very difficult for us to put the ball where we wanted it to go and they did a tremendous job executing the game plan.”

Despite an off-shooting night and a decisive disadvantage on the boards, the Tigers were within one point (46-45) of St. Raphael’s with 2:19 to play after Bjornson converted a three-point play. However, the Saints countered with Devon Robertson (8 points) sinking a lay-in and Correa converting a fast-break lay-up and two free throws to open a 52-45 cushion with 55 ticks left.

Bjornson bottomed a couple of charity tosses with 35 seconds to play, but Tiverton was forced to foul and Correa, Mejia and Vasey all swished two foul shots apiece in the closing 32 seconds to ice the victory.

After the Tigers forged a 24-19 halftime edge, the game turned in the opening six minutes of the second half when the Saints asserted their physical dominance. Correa tallied seven points in that span which ended with a Mejia fast-break lay-up giving St. Raphael’s its first lead in 10 minutes at 32-30. A Rosa floater with 8:47 to go knotted the count at 34-34 until Mejia scored four points in an 8-0 Saints’ string which opened a 42-34 lead with 6:17 remaining.

Rosa countered with successive hoops to halve the Tiverton deficit before Bjornson netted seven straight Tiger points to close the gap to a single digit, setting the stage for the Saints’ late surge.

“All game long, I thought St. Ray’s made it difficult for Ben and Gunnar to get their touches and they applied pressure whenever that happened,” Arcouette said. “We were never able to find a way to get them free.”

Indeed, the Saints played tenaciously on defense throughout the contest, forced numerous turnovers, challenged shots and dominated both backboards. With a deeper roster, St. Raphael’s simply wore down Tiverton, which was forced to play a double-overtime game 24 hours before to advance to the state final.

Both teams began the night tensely, missing easy shots and forcing the action. Five ties and eight lead changes dominated the opening 11 minutes until Ken Welchman banked in a fast-break lay-in and Bergandy produced seven unanswered points – the final three on a trey – as the Tigers went on a 9-0 tear to take a 22-15 lead with 1:57 left in the opening chapter.

Although Bjornson went scoreless in the first half – and actually took just one shot – Bergandy picked up the slack with 15 points. In the second period, the Saints shut down Bergandy on the interior and while surrendering 15 points to Bjornson, also made him work extremely hard for each score.

“The credit goes to St. Ray’s,” Arcouette said. “Everyone on our team played as hard as they could tonight. We just fell a little short.”

Only on the scoreboard.

TIGER TALES: At the conclusion of Saturday’s contest, all Tiverton players and coaches received individual awards from the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and captains Bergandy, Bjornson and Welchman accepted the tournament’s runner-up trophy.

Bergandy was named the Tigers’ “Player of the Game” and joined Bjornson on the All-Tournament Team.

Approximately 30 minutes following the game’s conclusion, scores of Tiverton supporters were still gathered in a lobby of the Ryan Center awaiting the final appearance of the Tigers this season.

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