Tigers Shock Rams, 64-52, in State Championship Debut

These Tigers are not yet extinct.

Rebounding from a disappointing one-game appearance in last month’s Division II State Playoffs, the Tiverton High boys’ basketball team shocked Division I LaSalle Academy of Providence, 64-52, Saturday afternoon in a first-round game of the 2011 Credit Union State Boys’ Basketball Championship at the Providence Career and Training Academy.

Gunnar Bjornson drilled a game-high 28 points and Ben Bergandy scored all but one of his 17 points in the second half as the 11th-seeded Tigers (18-7) led most of the way while ousting the sixth-seeded Rams (14-11). Tiverton returns to the PCTA Tuesday night at 8 for a quarterfinal-round pairing against 3rd-seeded Bishop Hendricken High of Warwick, which demolished 14th-seeded Johnston High, 81-52, in Saturday's nightcap.

Saturday’s triumph was vindication for the Tigers, who, after finishing second to Rogers High of Newport in the regular-season Division II-South standings, were upset by Barrington High in their postseason debut. And Saturday’s victory was no fluke as the taller, stronger and more poised Tigers overcame cold shooting from both the floor and free throw line to simply overpower LaSalle, using Bjornson’s multiple talents and Bergandy’s interior prowess to wear down the Rams.

Ken Welchman and Alex Rosa both netted 8 points to complement Tiverton’s attack. Sophomore sharp-shooter Tom Hunt sparked the Rams with 22 points, while Jared Thompton contributed 9 points and Josh McCourt threw in 8 points.

“We have a lot of respect for LaSalle and we knew it would be a tough game, but we were ready to play,” said Tiverton Coach Jerry Arcouette. “Obviously, we thought we could get the ball to the rim either off dribble-penetration or get it in low to Benny (Bergandy). “In the first half, I thought we missed a lot of easy shots, but in the second half, we began to relax and get it inside.”

After twice building leads of 13 points in the second half, Tiverton was forced to withstand a late Rams’ rally which eventually whittled their deficit to just two points. The Tigers were in front by a 42-32 margin with 8:52 left after Bergandy swished two charity tosses when Hunt netted seven points in a three-minute span, including a trey which reduced Tiverton’s edge to 45-43 with 5:09 left.

The Tigers, however, countered with a 10-0 blitz in the ensuing two minutes – including six points from Bjornson – to assume a 55-43 advantage at the 3:18 mark. LaSalle kept coming and drew to within 58-52 on Travis Bean’s trey with 54 ticks to go, but never scored again and Bjornson (four) and Bergandy (two) iced the win with six straight free throws in the final minute.

After trailing by a 9-6 margin with 10:02 left in the first half, Tiverton ran off the next eight points – seven by Bjornson, including a pair of long-range three-point baskets – to take the lead for good at 14-9 at the 6:26 mark. Hunt’s three-pointer narrowed the gap to 16-14 with 5:05 to go, but the Tigers jumped back in front by seven points (23-16) before settling for a 23-21 lead at intermission.

Baskets by Welchman, B.K. Kiser and Rosa along with Bergandy’s three-point play opened a 32-21 Tiverton bulge in the first three minutes of the second half and hoops by Welchman stretched the Tiger cushion to 36-23 and 38-25, setting the stage for LaSalle’s comeback.

Tiverton did yeoman work in challenging the Rams’ bevy of perimeter shooters and surrendered precious few points on the interior, much to Arcouette’s delight.

“We played multiple defenses and changed it up every time to give them different looks and make them think about it,” he said. “We felt that as long as we were in good position to give help, we could cover up if we got beat on the perimeter.”

Saturday’s contest was the first for the Tigers in 12 days and just their second in 22 days.

 “Our kids are really pumped about getting this opportunity (to play in the State Championship),” Arcouette said. “It wasn’t hard to keep them busy during the layoff. This was a great win for Tiverton.”

TIGER TALES: Bjornson finished the regular-season as the top scorer in Rhode Island boys’ basketball with a 23.7 points-per-game average, 1.4 points better than runner-up Robert Lewis of Central High of Providence. Bergandy finished in a tie for 20th place in the state at 16.8 ppg. and was ninth in Division II.

Tiverton’s victory over LaSalle capped a 3-2 weekend for Division II squads against Division I teams in the State Championship. While North Providence eliminated Portsmouth and West Warwick upended Coventry, Rogers bowed to North Kingstown and Westerly was defeated by St. Raphael’s Academy of Pawtucket.