CRANSTON — Second-seeded Woonsocket completed an undefeated season with 57-51 victory over fourth-seeded Riverside in the Rhode Island Principals Committee on Athletics boys’ middle school basketball state championship game played Thursday night, Feb. 13, at the Cranston High School East gymnasium.

The Villa Novans, who placed first in the Northern Division regular season standings, finished with a 16-0 record following three playoff wins including a 56-48 victory over Portsmouth in the semifinals.

For Riverside, its season came to a close with a 15-2 overall record. The Vikings made amends for their only other loss by defeating top-seeded and then-unbeaten UCAP (Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program) of Providence in the semifinals, 77-40.

"The team played extremely hard tonight and never gave up, we were undersized for the first time all year but they battled," said RMS head coach Scott Breault. "We had our chances in the game but a couple of bounces went their way, a couple more shots fell for them and they grabbed a few more rebounds. I am proud of the team for the way they played tonight, they should be proud of themselves. "

The championship game remained tight for the opening 16 minutes. Woonsocket took a slim 26-24 lead to halftime.

In the second half, the Villa Novans extended their defense a bit, challenging the perimeter shooters of Riverside. The Vikings still managed some good looks at the basket, but their shots weren’t falling.

Woonsocket did most of its damage inside in the second half and eventually opened up double-digit lead mid-way through the period. The Villa Novans managed to maintain that good sized spread for pretty much the rest of the way.

Xavier Hazard, Skyller Garcia and Trey Rezendes III each had 15 points to pace Riverside. Kenaz Ochogwu added four and Cameron Evora two.

Seven Villa Novans scored led by the 14 apiece of Alex Herrera and Andre Bell. Jeriel Vasquez chipped in eight. Joel Felix and Rushaune Vilane each had seven. Jamaury Barr added four and Dante Melton three.

— East Providence Post and eastbayri.com staff photographer Rich Dionne shot the accompanying gallery of photos.