The Barrington High School boys basketball team was 12 minutes away from a trip to the Division I finals. 

The Eagles led LaSalle 24-20 at halftime in the D-I tournament semifinals on Thursday night, Feb. 23, and went up 28-20 a few minutes into the third quarter. 

“Then LaSalle went on one of their patented runs,” said Barrington High School Coach Mike Raffa. “Their defensive pressure got turned up and we had trouble handling their physicality.” 

Barrington struggled to score in the second half and lost to LaSalle, 55-41. LaSalle will play against Hendricken in the tournament finals. 

The Eagles will wait to see the pairings for the State Open Tournament, which tips off next week. Raffa said he expects his team will host a first round game on Thursday, March 2. 

Against LaSalle, Barrington held a one-point lead after the first quarter of play, 11-10. Matt Raffa had two points in the first quarter, while Dan Coogan had five and Nick Scandura added two. The Eagles extended their lead to 24-20 at halftime, capped by a basket and a foul by Coogan at the buzzer. 

The Barrington faithful who made the trip to North Kingstown (a neutral site) to watch the game were excited when Raffa knocked down two baskets at the start of the third quarter and the Eagles found themselves leading the second-seeded Rams, 28-20. 

About half-way through the third quarter, LaSalle turned up its defensive pressure and Barrington’s offense went cold. The Rams went on a 16-0 run to end the third quarter, led 36-28 entering the fourth quarter, and walked away with the 14-point win. 

“It was a learning experience in a few ways,” Coach Raffa said. “We learned we can play with anyone in the state. After 20 minutes, we were up by eight… We also learned that against teams like LaSalle and Hendricken, you can’t take any possessions off.”

Coach Raffa said he knows his team can play strong defense against LaSalle — in their two match-ups, Barrington has limited the Rams to 56 and 55 points. 

“We just need to find a way to … score more points,” he said. 

1,000-point scorer

Matt Raffa finished the game with 15 points to lead the Eagles, and along the way, he eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone. 

Coogan scored 12 points, including 10 in the first half, while Scandura added seven. Other Barrington players to finish in the scoring column were Sean Bonneau (three points), Spencer Proulx (two points), and Owen Pfeffer (two points).