East Bay trio preps for boys’ hoops Open State Tourney

D-II champion Portsmouth, Barrington, East Providence qualify

Posted 3/9/20

EAST BAY — The 2020 boys’ basketball Open State Championship Tournament, which begins this week and continues through the final scheduled for Sunday, March 22, at the University of Rhode …

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East Bay trio preps for boys’ hoops Open State Tourney

D-II champion Portsmouth, Barrington, East Providence qualify

Posted

EAST BAY — The 2020 boys’ basketball Open State Championship Tournament, which begins this week and continues through the final scheduled for Sunday, March 22, at the University of Rhode Island’s Ryan Center, features three East Bay teams.

East Providence High School is the sixth seed. The Townies appear headed towards a Thursday, March 12, meeting in the Round of 16 with 11-seeded Lincoln High, which won the Division III league playoffs with a 51-48 victory over Johnston. The Townies and Lions meet in East Providence at 6:30 p.m.

The Elite Eight is set for Sunday, March 15, at CCRI-Warwick with the Final Four also at the Ryan Center on Saturday, March 21.

Division II champions Portsmouth, which defeated Barrington for the league title, is the fourth seed. The Patriots face 13th-seeded Shea, led by Bryant University commit Erickson Bans, in the Round of 16 Thursday at home at 6:30 p.m. The D-II runners-up Eagles are slated to face 10th-seeded Smithfield of D-I in Barrington Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m.

The Portsmouth-Shea game is the only rematch for any of the three locals. The Patriots defeated the Raiders, 70-65, during the regular season. Portsmouth held Bans to just 14 points, 16 below his average of 30. Ben Hurd poured in 30 for the Pats.

The Townies finished sixth in the combined Open Tourney power rankings, which awarded points for victories during both the regular season and division championship playoffs. Division I regular season league and divisional tournament wins were worth one point, Division II 0.8 and Division III 0.6 per win. East Providence compiled 17 points based off its 15 regular season victories and two D-I playoff wins.

Division 1 champion Hendricken (21 points) is the top seed while league runner-up North Kingstown (20) is the two. Both teams won 17 games during the regular season. The Hawks defeated the Skippers 58-53 in the D-I title game played March 8. The league championship is the second for Hendricken since the creation of the Open State event.

Mt. Pleasant, a D-I semifinalist, is the three seed with 16 points. Division II champions Portsmouth also had 16 points, but the Kilties won the tiebreaker based on strength of wins. The same was true for LaSalle, which is the five seed with 15 points. The Rams earned the breaker of the rival Townies because of their 14 regular season wins to 13 for E.P.

Barrington and another team from that league, Westerly, round out the top-half of the Open Tourney bracket with seeds seven and eight, respectively.

For its 10th edition, the state tournament has been expanded from 16 to 18 teams. Fifteenth-seeded Woonsocket and No. 18 Blackstone Valley Prep meet in one preliminary game for a spot in the main draw as do 16-seeded Tolman and 17 Rogers. Those games are scheduled for Tuesday night, March 10, at the home of the higher seed.

2020 Boys’ Basketball Open State Tournament
Final power rankings/seed list
1. Bishop Hendricken 21
2. North Kingstown 20
3. Mt. Pleasant 16
4. Portsmouth 16.0
5. La Salle 15
6. East Providence 15
7. Barrington 14.4
8. Westerly 12.8
9. Cranston West 12.8
10. Smithfield 12
11. Lincoln 12.0
12. Johnston 11.4
13. Shea 11.2
14. East Greenwich 11.2
15. Woonsocket 10
16. Tolman 9.6
17. Rogers 9.6
18. Blackstone Valley Prep 9.6

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