Middle School Hoopsters Play in Final Four Today

PORTSMOUTH – In the first two games against Deering Middle School of West Warwick, not much went right for the Narragansett Pier School boys’ basketball team.

Deering beat Narragansett convincingly in both games, a result not uncommon. Deering finished with an 17-0 regular season record, and won their opening round playoff game against Chariho.

However, Narragansett pulled the upset of the middle school tournament on Monday afternoon, as head coach Tom Tessitore said his team was all-business in its 58-50 win.

“They came out on a mission,” he said. “They went running into that gym. Once they get in, they’re taking their layups with focus. They were just so excited.”

Tessitore said the key to the game was the defense of wing Deontae Stanley. In the two previous games, Deering’s point guard easily split through Narragansett defenders.

To counter this, Tessitore put Stanley, a big, quick defender, on the small guard, and played a box-and-one defense. Tessitore said the team had “an intense practice” session to learn the defense.

“He [Deering’s point guard] had three points in the second half, and he didn’t score in the first,” Tessitore said. “[Stanley] was our glue today. He just locked that kid down for us today.”

Stanley also scored 11 points, despite the tough defensive assignment. Chris DiClemente led the Mariners with 25 points, as Deering had no answer for the burly center in the lane. Joe Sekator finished with 15 points.

Rounding out the scoring for Narragansett, Tyrell Smith had five points and Jared Field sank a pair of free throws. Tessitore said Will Doyle played good defense, as part of a great team effort.

“They just refused to lose,” Tessitore said.

Narragansett will look to play spoilers again, as they face another undefeated team later today – Barrington Middle School. The Eagles finished the regular season 13-0, and punched their ticket to the middle school final four by beating Coventry 67-55 and Cole Middle School of East Greenwich 72-54.

Barrington played in the East Bay Division, making a comparison with Narragansett tough. The two teams only have two opponents in common – Gaudet Middle School of Middletown and Thompson Middle School of Newport.

• In a preseason tournament, the , and Barrington beat them twice in their regular season by 18 and 20 points.
• In their opening playoff game, . However, the final score is deceptive: The Mariners blew the game open in the fourth quarter, as Thompson imploded. Thompson finished in second place in the East Bay Division, lost 63-46 at Barrington on Dec. 2 and 74-70 at home on Jan. 6.

Tip-off today is 4:30 p.m. at Portsmouth Middle School. For directions, click here. To see a full playoff bracket, click here.

The winner today will move on to the middle school state finals against North Cumberland or Slater Middle School of Pawtucket. Both teams are also undefeated, leaving Narragansett as the only non-favorite to emerge from its hub.

The semifinals between the two will also be held at Portsmouth Middle School, right after Narragansett vs. Barrington. The finals will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15 at the Bay View Academy.