[VIDEO] Fitch Defeats Narragansett To Win Basketball Championship

NARRAGANSETT -- Foul shooting woes came back to haunt the Narragansett Mariners last night, but this time the consequence was far more dire.

The Mariners (3-3, 1-2 D-II) fell to Fitch High School, 53-47, in the finals of the Mariner Holiday Basketball Tournament in part by four missed free throws in the closing minutes that would have tied the game.

The Falcons from Groton, CT were led by tournament MVP Chad Graham (25 points). Pat Doyle scored 17 for Narragansett and chipped in four rebounds and four assists. Pat Degnan netted 10 points, and center Jeff Pistacchio was the leading rebounder with 11 boards and four points.

After the team shooting just 41.2 percent from the line in a 71-42 win over East Greenwich on Wednesday, head coach David Gee was hoping his team could execute better from the foul stripe. A 6-for-15 (40 percent) output Thursday couldn’t cut it. Degnan and Pistacchio each missed a pair of free throws with less than three minutes to go that would have gotten Narragansett back in the game.

“We missed a couple of really big free throws down the stretch,” Gee said. “We’re not shooting them very well right now. We’ve had one game where we’ve shot them well. Other than that, we haven’t shot well in many games.

“We think, as the year goes on, we’ll get better. Until then it’s touch and go.”

In the early going, neither team had much control of the tempo. The Falcons and Mariners were within a few points of each other the entire first half. Narragansett showed a lot of promise on the defensive end, forcing Fitch into eight turnovers in the opening period. Doyle handled a chunk of the offense for the Mariners in the half, scoring 11 of the team’s 24 points. The Mariners led 24-23 heading into what would be an entertaining second half.

The Mariners pushed their lead to 36-31 with 10:07 remaining when Doyle received an outlet pass from Mark Griffith and made a routine layup. Graham and the Falcons began slowly chipping away at the deficit and took a 39-36 lead with under seven minutes to go.

A layup by Graham put Fitch ahead 43-41 with 5:26 left. Fitch pulled ahead 47-43 with under four minutes left, at which point the Mariners missed the crucial free throws. Doyle nailed two fouls shots with 44 seconds left, but on the next possession Graham made a floater to put the Falcons ahead 49-45.

Mariner junior Anthony Nero forced a steal on a full court press and tossed the ball quickly to Griffith to get Narragansett back to 49-47 with 16 seconds left, but Fitch made its free throws afterward to seal the game.

Gee said that he was not expecting to put forth another offensive surge like against East Greenwich and wanted to take a more deliberate approach.

“We actually showed some patience and made them play defense,” Gee said. “I think that led to our score being lower but we didn’t want to get into a track meet with them.”

Narragansett shot 19-for-54, a 35.2 percent clip, while Fitch shot 21-52 (40.4 percent). Despite the loss and some shaky offense, Gee sees promise in the team.

“We could have taken some better shots down the stretch, but we’re learning as a team how to manage games. I thought we took a step in the right direction today.”

Asked if there are any New Year's resolutions for the squad, Gee said finishing plays belongs high up on the list.

“Whether it be a free throw, a rebound or a shot around the rim we have to finish plays,” Gee said. “To win a championship you have to finish plays.”

Narragansett’s next game is Tuesday when it hosts Ponaganset. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

NARRAGANSETT MARINERS (3-3, 1-2 D-II)

19-54

35.2%

6-15

40.0%

3-17

17.6%

Blocks: 2 (P. Doyle, J. Pistacchio)

Steals: 10 (D. Doyle 3, Degnan 2, Griffith 2, P. Doyle, Castrovillari, Nero)

FITCH FALCONS

FG: 21-52 (40.2%)

FT: 10-13 (76.9%)

3P: 1-11 (9.1%)

REB: 32

TO: 13

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