Division I Boys' Basketball Final Four - Tiverton vs. Central

10:02 p.m. – Tiverton inbounding right now. They get the ball into Vasconcelos, who hasn’t played much today, and is now going to the line for two huge shots.

The first shot hits the back rim and tumbles out. The second shot is good though, giving Tiverton a three-point lead.

On offense, Central misses a fadeaway 3-pointer by Nunez, and Bjornson gets the eventual rebound and gets fouled.

He misses the first shot, keeping it a one possession game, and the second. Gautier comes down and launches a 3-point shot with two defenders on him, but it is a high rebound and Central can’t get another shot off. We’re finally over!

Tiverton 77, Central 74 – DOUBLE OVERTIME

Stay tuned to Patch for interviews and a game story.

9:57 p.m. – Tiverton inbounds to Bjornson, who gets triple-teamed, and a travel is called. Looks like it could have gone either way, foul or travel.

Central ball. Lewis gets blocked, gets his board, and then hits the layup to tie the game. However, he then commits a stupid foul, trying to turn Bjornson over 80-feet from the basket with 33.2 left.

Bjornson is on the line, shooting two with 33.2 left. He two-bounces the first one in off the front of the rim, and follows it up by swishing the second.

On offense, Nunez drives and tries to dish, but throws it out of bounds in the process. Tiverton calls timeout with the ball, up 76-74. We have 25.1 left.

9:54 p.m. – Second overtime, Tiverton wins the tap. Just like the first overtime, Bjornson hits a 3-point shot to give them the early lead. Lewis misses a drive on the other end, but recovers and converts on a second chance. But Bjornson hits ANOTHER 3-point shot, with Lewis draped all over him!

On the other end, Nunez misses a layup, but Tiverton can’t convert as time slips under 2:30. Bjornson blocks a Lewis shot from behind with 2:02 left, but McNally is called for a foul with the body.

Lewis can only hit one of two, but Central steals the inbound, and Lewis gets fouled again with his team down 69-66, 1:57 left. He again hits one-of-two, and on the rebound, Nunez fouls out, hacking Bergandy on the arm.

Amazingly, it’s still one-and-one for Tiverton. Bergandy hits the first though, and then the second. Lewis goes coast-to-coast though for the layup, keeping his team in it.

However, Bergandy gets fouled again in the post. He hits one of two, pushing the Tiverton lead to three. Central drives but can’t hit anything, and with 59.1 left they foul Bjornson.

He hits the front end of the 1-and-1, and the second shot, giving Tiverton a five-point cushion. However, Mendez answers right back with a 3-point shot, and Central takes its final timeout.

With 50.0 left, Central trails 74-72. Tiverton has the ball.

9:45 p.m. – One more time: Central ball with 4.5 left. They’re inbounding in their own half of the court; Nunez will key it.

He passes to Lewis, who gets to the rim but misses the layup! It was a tough shot, but he made a similar play earlier. So with that, we’re headed to double overtime.

AFTER ONE OVERTIME: Tiverton 63, Central 63

9:43 p.m. – Central ball with 4.5 left. However, before we get to the inbound, Tiverton calls a timeout.

9:42 p.m. – It’s no secret who Tiverton wants the ball to go to out of the timeout. Rosa starts with it though, and drives, hitting a scoop shot in the lane to get them within one.

Bjornson then gets called for a foul on the perimeter, trying to get it from Lewis with 33.8 left. Lewis is shooting two, and hits the first. However, he misses the second, and Bjornson gets the rebound. Instead of shooting, he drops the ball off to Bergandy on a drive, and he hits an easy layup to tie it up at 63.

Central takes their last timeout with 4.5 remaining and the ball. We’re tied at 63.

9:39 p.m. – Tiverton ball out of the timeout. They get it into Bjornson, but he’s triple-teamed and travels, although with some contact. Mendez then hits another 3, and we’re tied at 57.

After a steal by Central, Lewis hits a layup, giving them a 59-57 lead. Tiverton works the ball down low, and Bergandy hits both to tie it back up at 59.

Central ball with 1:40 left. Mendez comes off a screen but misses a 3-point shot, and gets no foul on the contact. The other way, Bjornson is called for a charge as he goes through the lane. The crowd doesn’t like it, but it looked correct.

Central ball with 1:15 left, and Nunez hits a 3, giving them a 62-59 lead. Tiverton calls timeout with 51.3 seconds left.

9:33 p.m. – Mendez answers with a 3-pointer out of the timeout, and Bjornson takes another long, long 3. This one doesn’t go, but Central travels bringing the ball up.

Tiverton takes a timeout – they have three left. With 2:25 left, they lead 57-54.

9:31 p.m. – To start the overtime, Tiverton wins the tip, and Bjornson dribbles up in Nunez’s face, hitting a long 3-point shot. On the next possession, he hits another one from even further out, giving them a six-point lead with 2:57 to play.

Central calls timeout, down 57-51. It’s the Gunnar Bjornson show, as he now has 25 points.

9:28 p.m. – It’s a decidedly pro-Tiverton crowd as they ask the crowd to get loud out of the timeout. Central ball.

They get it to Lewis, who is going one on one with Bjornson to end the game, it looks like. He dribbles the ball down to five seconds, and makes his move, pulling up from 15-feet. It’s short though, and bounces high as time runs out, with no chance for a putback.

We’re going to overtime! At the end of regulation:

Tiverton 51, Central 51

Neither team has an important regular with four fouls, but Central is down to two timeouts – They get one more for the start of overtime. Both teams had chances down the stretch, so there isn’t a team that clearly has the momentum.

9:25 p.m. – Central comes with a full-court press, and while they don’t get a turnover, they do force a bad shot by Tiverton. Lewis drives the other way, misses, but gets his rebound and hits in the lane to tie it up at 51. He gets fouled in the process, but misses long.

However, Tiverton fumbles the ball out of bounds with 50.4 seconds left. Central ball, tie game. Lewis dribbles the ball past half court and looks to kill some clock.

He makes his move with 30 on the game clock and misses a long 3-point shot that barely glances the rim. However, there is a tie-up down low, and it’s Central ball on the jump.

Tiverton calls a timeout with 27.8 seconds left, game tied at 51.

9:21 p.m. – Bjornson dribbles around for about 20 seconds and gets the ball poked away. Welchman tapes it out of a Central player’s hands to Bergandy, who hits the layup, giving Tiverton a four-point lead.

But on the other end, Lewis gets held going to the hole. He hits both shots, and Central calls timeout. They trail 51-49, with 1:19 left, and have one timeout left.

9:18 p.m. – Central misses a 3 out of the timeout, and Bergandy doesn’t get called for an over the back, somehow. Kiser does though on the offensive end, trying to get another 25-footer from Bjornson.

The teams trade misses shots, and with 2:27 left in the game, Gautier hits his first shot, a layup on a fast break. Central trails 49-47 and calls timeout. They have two left.

9:15 p.m. – For those keeping track at home, both teams have four timeouts left. Central can’t hit an open 3-point shot out of the timeout, and Bjornson has finally found the range, hitting a 3 to give Tiverton the lead again.

Central misses badly on their end, and Bjornson hits a 3-point shot from about 24 feet out to give Tiverton a 49-45 lead, and forcing a Central timeout. We have 3:46 left in a wild one!

9:11 p.m. – Nunez hits a long two off the dribble to give Central a five-point lead. Bergandy can’t answer for the Tigers, who have gone scoreless for about three minutes now. The fluid offense from earlier is missing, and as proof, Welchman throws a pass way too high, off Bjornson’s hands.

However, on a rebound, he finally finds the range, nailing a 3-point shot. Lewis answers with a layup, which Bergandy answers right back with a layup of his own.

The Tigers turn it over on consecutive possessions though, and they call timeout. With 4:54 left, Central leads 45-43, and have the ball.

9:06 p.m. – It has been a game of unsung heroes so far. While Lewis is finally heating up for Central, they were carried in the first half by Rodrigues, a reserve. For Tiverton, Bergandy is up to 18 points, as Central can’t handle his post moves.

Central opens up a three-point lead after a jumper by Brooks. After they regain possession on a Tiverton turnover, they call timeout.

With 8:11 left, Central leads 41-38.

9:02 p.m. – To start the second half, Tiverton turns the ball over, but they get the ball back on a steal by Rosa. They can’t convert though after a block by Rodrigues, and Lewis hits a putback.

However, Bergandy stays hot, and backs down his man in the lane to draw a foul. He hits both shots.

We then have some controversy, as Lewis gets called for a flagrant for hacking Bergandy. However, Bergandy is also called for a technical for hanging on the rim. Bergandy hits one-of-two from the line of his technical, and Lewis shoots the technicals for Central. He hits one of two, so the whole thing is a wash.

After that mess, there is a scrum down low after a missed Central shot. It’s Central ball on the jump, and Briggs hits a shot in the paint. Bjornson answers though, again driving to get fouled.

However, he misses both shots. After another jump ball, and a turnover and missed layup by Central, they again foul Bjornson driving toward the bucket. He hits both this time, stretching the Tiverton lead to 31-28.

On the ensuing Central play, Nunez gets open for a 3, but he can’t hit. Tiverton travels on the rebound though. Heard scores his first basket, but Bergandy answers right back with a layup.

Unfortunately though, he hammers Briggs while he’s in the lane. Briggs hits the first shot, but misses the second. Welchman misses a long 3-point shot, but Central travels on the rebound.

“Gunner” Bjornson would be an appropriate name right now, as he takes several long 3-point shots that miss. Central ties it on a putback by Briggs, and takes the lead on a drive by Lewis and a layup by Nunez.

However, Tiverton answers with a 3-pointer by Welchman. Lewis hits a ridiculous shot in the lane, and Bjornson misses another 3, which leads to a timeout by Tiverton.

With 8:49 left in the second half, Tiverton trails Central 39-38.

8:40 pm. – Individual stats at the half:

For Tiverton, Bergandy has 11 points, followed by Bjornson with eight. Welchman (3), Kiser (2) and Rosa (2) have also scored. Kiser has two steals, and Bjornson and Rosa each have one.

For Central, Rodrigues has seven points. Nunez (4), Lawson (4), Mendez (4), Lewis (2) and Brooks (2) have also scored. Brooks has a steal, and Frazier and Briggs have one block each.

8:33 p.m. – Coming out of the timeout, Tiverton again switches defense, going man-to-man. It leads to another bad shot, and on the other end, Bjornson takes a runner. He’s bumped on the play and goes to the line, hitting both. Six-point Tiverton lead, and they almost force a turnover by again switching defenses, this time to a three-quarters-court trap.

Central is getting open looks from deep, but can’t hit anything. Meanwhile, Bjornson takes a shot from about 25-feet that almost goes in. Mendez finally ends the bleeding with a long jumper, and Rodrigues hits on a post move, getting fouled by Rosa to boot.

He sinks the free throw, getting Central within one, but Bjornson answers with a two on a drive along the baseline. He then misses another 3, but gets the rebound on the defensive end.

After a short rest, Kiser comes back in for Geoffrey McNally, who checked in briefly.  Bergendy is having a great game in the post for Tiverton, as he has a nice up-and-under for another basket.

As the half winds down, Jalon Brooks hits a two for Central, and Bjornson misses another 3-point shot for Tiverton. Bergendy gets called for a travel in the lane, but Central misses a 3-point shot near the buzzer.

At the half: Tiverton 26, Central 23.

8:22 p.m. – Central wins the tip, and Tiverton starts in a 3-2 match-up zone that forces a bad shot. On the ensuing possession, Bergandy posts and draws a shooting foul on Frazier. He sinks both without hitting the rim.

On the other end, Lawson rebounds a miss by Lewis and hits a putback, tying the game at 2. Bjornson tries to drive on the other end, gets stuffed by Frazier, but Central turns the ball over.

The teams trade misses, until Lawson gives Central its first lead on a tip-in. Tiverton is rapidly switching defenses, now playing a half-court trap, which leads to an awkward missed shot for Central. Bjornson pulls up from 25-feet on the other end, but airballs.

However, Central is playing just as out of control. They commit a silly foul on a rebound attempt and it leads to an easy basket by Kiser on a set play. Lewis answers with a drive and bank shot.

Ben Nunez and Devante Briggs check in for Central. Lawson gets called for a foul on a rebound attempt, but Tiverton can’t capitalize, missing a shot down low.

Raikwon Rodrigues checks in for Central and hits a bank shot in the paint, and then a Tiverton turnover leads to a layup by Nunez. He then hacks Bjornson on a drive.

Bjornson takes it to the hole strong again, quickly drawing Nunez’s second foul, and Central’s fifth. Bjornson hits one of two from the line. On the next possession, Rosa hits a nice layup on a drive, bringing Tiverton within three, 10-7.

Nunez drives to the hole and gets fouled by Bergandy. Nunez hits both free throws, and a block by Briggs leads to a layup by Daniel Mendez. A steal by Rosa eventually leads to a layup by Bergandy, but Tiverton gives it right back by allowing Rodrigues to get post position down-low for an easy layup.

Central again turns the ball over, with Bjornson grabbing the steal. Bergandy is having a great game down low, as he gets the entry pass and goes up for a layup, plus a foul. He sinks the free throw – Central leads 16-12.

On the other end, Nunez and Rodrigues miss bunnies down low. Nunez then picks up his third foul reaching in on Bergandy. Tiverton is already into the bonus with seven minutes left, and Bergandy hits both. Tigers down two.

Bjornson gives the Tigers back the lead, as Central is slow to rotate and he sinks a long 3-point shot.

The two teams trade turnovers, and then Welchman hits a long 3, leading to the game’s first stoppage, a Central timeout. Tiverton leads 20-16.

8:03 p.m. – Starting for Tiverton: Kenneth Welch, B.K. Kiser, Gunnar Bjornson, Alexander Rosa and Ben Gergandy.

Starting for Central: Dayvon Heard, Marquise Frazier, Robert Lewis, Bryan Gautier and Jarrell Lawson.

8 p.m. – We’re moments from tip here at the Ryan Center. We’ll have lineups and some game action description shortly.

7:26 p.m. – Down by 10, North Providence is forced to foul. Charles Correa sinks two free throws. The Cougars then miss a lay-up, which leads to a lay-up for Correa, upping his output to 22 points. Cesar Mejia hits two more free throws after a North Providence miss to push the lead to 18 points with less than a minute.

The teams trade free throws and baskets in the final 30 seconds. Final score:

St. Ray’s 66, North Providence 46

The final score is deceptive, as the Division II Cougars were in this game until the final four minutes. At that point, their lack of size finally seemed to catch up with them.

Correa led St. Ray’s with 24 points. Van Bemmelen’s 18 points led North Providence.

Tip-off for the Tiverton-Central game is coming at 8 p.m.  We’ll update as soon as we have starting lineups for both teams.

7:15 p.m. – I’m coming to you live from the Ryan Center for tonight’s Division I boys’ basketball Final Four game between the Tiverton Tigers and the Central High School Knights.

The “I’m” in the preceding statement is . will be providing video and photo at various points.

In the early game, the underdog North Providence Cougars got within a point with about eight minutes remaining. However, since then, the St. Raphael Academy Saints have gone on an 11-0 run.

Trevor Vasey leads the Saints with 19 points. For North Providence, Austin Van Bemmelen has 18.

We’ll be doing live updates throughout the night, for the end of this first game and for the Tiverton-Central tilt. Got any questions, comments or concerns? Feel free to ask us in the comments section.