Knights fall to MassBay

From Staff Reports
Posted 2/20/20

FROM STAFF REPORTS The CCRI Knights men's club volleyball team hosted their first conference competition of the 2020 season on Saturday afternoon at Coventry high school. CCRI played fantastically, going 4-1 in their five matches against conference

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Knights fall to MassBay

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The CCRI Knights men’s club volleyball team hosted their first conference competition of the 2020 season on Saturday afternoon at Coventry high school. CCRI played fantastically, going 4-1 in their five matches against conference opposition. The solid day improves CCRI’s season record to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

The Knights topped URI, the University of New Haven, South New Hampshire University and Curry College. CCRI fell to Marist College.

The Knights came into their second competition of the 2020 season this past Saturday. Their first invitational was a great kickstart to the season. As they went 5-1 losing their only match in the final to UConn. This past weekend had similar successes as the Knights played solid volleyball all morning and afternoon. Every match was settled in two sets apart from their win against University of New Haven (UNH) that was won in the third.

Tight wins against UNH and URI proved this teams has what it takes to win against big competition. Marist College gave the biggest test of all where the experience of the older team came through and the Knights would fall 25-15 and 25-20.

CCRI was led by sophomore Abu Kamara (Providence) with 16 kills, 12 aces and four blocks. Sophomore Ryan Casci (South Kingstown) was outstanding offensively at the net with 26 kills, nine aces and one block. Sophomore Maxwell Laiter (Warwick) produced 16 kills and four blocks on the day. Freshman Brandon Parton (Coventry) matched Laiter with 16 kills while adding two aces and two blocks.

Head Coach Anne-Marie Balboni commented: “We played well for today. I knew it was going to be a challenge and Marist, URI and University of New Haven would be strong competition. We trained all week for not only stamina but how to win a match when down by double digit points. That training was time well spent and we pulled off a 4-1 day. We travel to Curry College on the 29th to face the equally fierce teams of UConn, Scared Heart University and Williams University.”

The CCRI Knights men’s club volleyball team will next be in action on Saturday, February 29th at 9:00 a.m. as they travel to Curry College in Milton, MA for another multi-match weekend. Knights sweep Springfield The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team traveled to Springfield, MA to take on the Springfield Technical Community College Rams Saturday afternoon. The Knights’ defense shut down the Rams in the second half helping CCRI to a 94-70 victory. The win improves CCRI’s season record 19-9 overall and 15-2 in Region XXI play.

CCRI looked to replicate the success they had against Springfield Tech back in November where they won 103-86 at home. In their second meeting the teams would be much more level through the opening 20 minutes. Freshman Mitchel Noresca (East Providence) led all scorers in the opening half with 17 points with sophomore co-captain Jeremy Remigio (Providence) chipping in 10 first half points. At the half time break CCRI held a slim 45-40 lead over Springfield Tech.

In the second half the Knights was able to both slow down the Rams as well as improve on their scoring as well. Springfield Tech was held to 30 second half points. CCRI was able to steal the ball 10 times with Noresca leading the charge with four. Dominating the paint also led to CCRI outscoring Springfield Tech by 19 points in the final 20 minutes. Freshman Reece Bullock (Coventry) led the Knights in the second half with 13 points with Remigio adding another 10-point half to his afternoon’s performance. At the final buzzer the Knights were on top by a final score of 94-70.

The Knights were led by Noresca who had another monster day with 25 points, 20 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and one assist. Remigio dropped 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and one steal. Bullock tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and two steals. Sophomore co-captain Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, CT) contributed 13 points, seven assists, three steals and two rebounds. Freshman Mikey Gamble (Hartford, CT) produced 13 points and two rebounds from the bench.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: “Solid Region XXI win today. We needed it as we get ready for MassBay on Sophomore Nights, Tuesday evening. Today’s game also was enjoyable as it allowed me to reflect on my 30 years of coaching at Cranston high school from 1990-2006 and here at CCRI for the past 14 seasons. Today’s win was the 500th that I have been involved with. I have been blessed to have had so many talented, hard-working and dedicated student-athletes both coaching the Thunderbolts and the Knights. I have also worked alongside many loyal coaches and got to share some memorable times with them all. I thank all of my team and players for taking me on this great journey. Many memorable moments because of them.”

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team hosted the MassBay Community College Buccaneers Tuesday evening. The evening also served as sophomore day as CCRI recognized their three sophomore co-captains; Lewis, Remigio and Dylan Durante (Johnston). The Knights’ led for much of the game but a resurgent Buccaneers squad came back to take the game from the Knights 73-72. The loss drops CCRI’s season record 19-10 overall and 15-3 in Region XXI play.

Tuesday’s meeting was the second of the season between the Buccaneers and the Knights. The first meeting was won by CCRI 80-59 back in November. This second meeting would prove much more of an even battle. Through the opening minutes both teams were battling with MassBay looking slightly more in control. The Knights buckled down and matched the pace set by the Buccaneers, taking a 25-23 lead with five minutes left in the half.

Lewis led the Knights in first-half scoring with 11 points while freshmen Gamble and Noresca produced nine and eight points respectively. CCRI dominated the last five minutes and opened a 10-point lead, going into the break leading 40-30 over MassBay.

The opening 10 minutes of the second half picked up where the first half left off. The Knights expanded their lead to 16 points; 63-47 with nine minutes left in the game. MassBay began to fight back behind Marshall Martin and his 15 second half points. Javaris Hill added eight points to get his total to a game-leading 23 points to supplement the Buccaneers’ offense.

The CCRI lead was cut further and further down until the teas were level after a Buccaneers teal and drive to the lane drawing the foul after a made basket. At 72-72 and with one shot at the line, MassBay made their shot and CCRI looked to play quick but could not get a shot off in time. CCRI would fall to MassBay by the slimmest of margins 73-72.

The Knights were led by Lewis as he scored 15 points with five assists and three rebounds. Noresca snagged 14 rebounds while adding 13 points. Remigio contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and one block. Gamble came off the bench to supply 10 points, four assists, three steals and one rebound.

Harris commented: “We took a step backwards tonight in that we played so hard to build up a second half lead, but we then seemed to forget what had allowed us to achieve that lead. MassBay fighting for a better playoff seeding wanted the game more than us down the stretch and did all the things needed to complete a great win for themselves. Disheartening for us especially on sophomore night, but we must take from this experience what we can. Our focus must quickly turn to Quincy Thursday night with the opportunity to win and lock up the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Region Tournament. I especially want to thank our sophomores Dylan, Elijah and Jeremy and hopefully we get the leadership we need from them in our attempt to make a post season run to the Nationals.”

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team will next be in action on Thursday, February 20th at 7:00 p.m. as they travel to Quincy, MA to take on the Quincy College Granite for their last regular season game of the 2019-20 campaign.

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