Schools

Classical Survives Thriller With NK for State Title

The Purple come back from a seven-point halftime deficit to claim a boys' basketball state title, 57-52, against North Kingstown.

 

KINGSTON – The top-seeded Classical Purple survived a fight to the finish with North Kingstown, 57-52 Sunday night at the Ryan Center, thanks to a missed 3 by the Skippers and clutch free throw shooting by Ismael Batista and Kealen Ives.

Up 54-52 with 16.3 seconds left, Ives went to the line with a chance to ice the game. While he managed to swish the first shot, the second rattled out.

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North Kingstown grabbed the board, pushed the ball upcourt and got it to senior Owen Heath for a long 3 from the elbow. While he had a man on him, Heath elevated and got free for the shot, which just hit off the rim.

Classical controlled the rebound, and North Kingstown was forced to foul Batista with 6.7 left. The senior sank both free throws, giving Classical a five-point lead that the Skippers couldn’t overcome.

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Ives was named Player of the Game afterward. He finished with a game-high 22 points, and also had the block of the game, brutally stuffing an attempted jumper by Matthew Quainoo in the second half.

Batista was held scoreless in the first half, but scored 13 in the second. He only shot 2-for-6 from the line prior to sinking the two at the end of the game to clinch it for the Purple.

North Kingstown held a 29-22 lead at the half, but the game was exciting and back-and-forth throughout. Shots from Batista and Ives were matched by North Kingstown’s Justin Pratt and Chris Hess, who had 10 and six points in the second half respectively.

However, North Kingstown was dealt a literal blow when Hess had to leave the game with about three minutes remaining.

Going in for a defensive rebound, Hess suffered a bloody nose. While trainers worked on him the rest of the game, the blood wouldn’t stop, and he wasn’t able to return.

From there, buckets by Ives and Terrill Toe (14 points) gave Classical a lead it wouldn’t surrender.

NK point guard Quainoo was named player of the game for the Skippers. However, after 12 first half points, he struggled in the second. He had just one bucket and missed a free throw, finishing with 14 points.

Heath finished with eight points for North Kingstown, and Alexander Madoian had two points. Jake Mansfield had several assists and defensive stops for the Skippers, and Chris Lenox didn’t score but spelled Quainoo at the point in the first half.


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