Middletown moves on, Rogers eliminated from boys open state tournament
Middletown rallied for a victory and Rogers ran into a powerhouse squad and lost as each high school boys basketball team vied in the Sweet 16 round of the open state tournament on Thursday.
No. 5 seed Middletown hosted No. 12 seed Chariho and saw the visitors – a team it beat by three points during the Division II regular season – grab an eight-point halftime lead. There must have been an inspiring halftime talk for the Islanders as they came out and outscored the Chargers 20-3 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
RJ Wiggins, who has upped his game in the postseason, led Middletown with 20 points and six rebounds. Tim Robinson, who fouled out of the game in the last quarter, finished with 18 points and six rebounds and sophomore Patrick Cranson came through with 15 points.
The Islanders advance to the Elite 8 at Rhode Island College on Sunday and will play No. 4 seed Barrington at 6 p.m. in the last of four games. Division I Barrington downed No. 13 seed North Smithfield 56-52 in its first tournament game. Sunday’s contest will be broadcast on WADK-FM (101.1).
Defending state champions oust Vikings
No. 18 seed Rogers was the final qualifier for the open state tournament and beat No. 15 seed Burrillville in a play-in game. That earned the Vikings a shot at No. 2 seed and defending state champ Bishop Hendricken. The Hawks lived up to their seeding as they flew past Rogers 65-41 on Thursday night in Warwick.
Senior Elijah Neal led the way for Rogers with 16 points. Miles Ventura contributed 12 points and Travis Burroughs added eight points as the Vikings concluded the season with a 15-9 overall record.
This was the second straight season the Vikings qualified for the open state tournament and won at least one game while playing out of Division II. Last season Rogers was the lone Division II squad to advance to the state tournament Final Four where it lost to Division I regular-season champ Classical.
Girls high school basketball:Rogers, Portsmouth girls advance to Elite 8 in open RI basketball tournament
There was no open state tourney in 2021, but the Vikings qualified for the 2020 state tournament while playing out of Division III. So, despite Thursday’s setback, the big picture shows things are trending upward for the Vikings.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI boys basketball tournament: Middletown advances, Rogers eliminated
