Classical Advances To RI Division II Basketball Semifinals

Classical defeated West Warwick 75-63 and will now face Scituate in the semifinals on Wednesday night, via High School Game Time:

The dream final between once-beaten Classical and once-beaten Narragansett is two victories from occurring Saturday afternoon at the University of Rhode Island’s Ryan Center.

For it to happen, Classical must beat Scituate on Wednesday night at 8 at CCRI in the semifinals of the Credit Union Division II Boys Basketball Tournament. And Narragansett has to eliminate Coventry in the 6:30 semifinal.

Classical (18-1), the defending champion, defeated West Warwick, 75-63, in the first quarterfinal of a long basketball Sunday. Scituate rolled over Portsmouth, 67-42, in the last quarterfinal.

Coventry (13-7) upset Shea (15-4), 73-51, and Narragansett (18-1) shook off a slow first half and beat Westerly (11-9), 72-57.

Classical seniors Ashton Watkins and Lavon Waite, the only regulars back from the 2008 team, paced the Purple yesterday. Watkins, the center, started strong with six points in about five minutes, but picked up his second personal foul and sat for the rest of the half. Waite, a guard, took over and scored 10 points before the break. Watkins, the 2008 player of the year in Rhode Island, returned for the second half and scored 20 points before sitting down with the rest of the starters with about a minute to play. He finished with 26 points, Waite with 12

“For the most part, we get what we want on offense. It’s a matter of knocking down shots. Having Ashton Watkins helps,” Classical coach Todd Keefe said.

West Warwick senior Richard Lizotte scored 19 points in his high-school finale, but only 6 came in the second half. Freshman guard Max Motroni established himself as a player to watch by scoring 18 points, 15 after the break.