2023/24 RIIL Postseason Recap

Owen Carlson | Friday, April 26th, 2024

The RIIL season came to an end last month with three new state champions being crowned. They do things a little differently in Rhode Island, as all of the state’s top teams are invited to one pan-divisional state tournament to decide the one true state champion following each division’s tournament. 

The highest prize in the state went to #1-seed Classical, as they knocked off La Salle 67-66 in the overarching RIIL State Tournament Championship behind a last second game-winner from sophomore hero Devin Sone, doubling down on the nail-biting victory over the same opponent in the RIIL Division I Championship and finishing an incredible 27-1 season. The title-winning effort also followed a victory over the Division II champions of Lincoln.

Sophomore standout Eliezer Delbrey led the Purple’s offense with 18 points, including 4 threes and took home the MVP award. Junior wing Jordan Duke and senior guard Azariah “Azzy” Harrison (a top-10 recruit out of RI’s C/O 2024) each contributed 14, with Duke shooting 4/4 from deep. Other big offensive nights came from sophomore guard Devin Sone, who scored 12, as well as junior guard Abdul Evans, who added 10.

The big names on the La Salle side include junior guard Timoy Stitchell, who led the game with 19 points on 5/5 from 3-point range, as well as senior forward Rex Zadrozny, who added 18 on 4/4 from deep. Junior wing Jacob Marcone and junior forward Liam Simpson also contributed 12 and 11, respectively. While they were able to knock off Matt Raffa and Barrington, the effort wouldn’t be enough to overcome Head Coach John Kavanagh’s Classical High School Purple. 

In Division II of the RIIL, #1-seed Lincoln came away with the state championship, coming by a score of 75-68 over Tolman in the finals, following a perfect undefeated regular season. 

Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year senior guard Wayne McNamara earned MVP honors after leading Lincoln with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, as he did all year long (averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals per game). Camden DiChiara was his running mate throughout the season, contributing 17 in the finals. Josh Bergeron also stepped up big-time with 18, shooting 5/6 from deep, and Isaiah Gois added 10. 

Tolman saw standout performances from Malik Gelinas and Daniel Saulsby, who each scored 15, as well as John Helaire, who added 13, but it wasn’t enough, as Head Coach Jeremy Wilner and the Lincoln Lions emerged victorious.

#1-seed North Providence defeated Juanita Sanchez 56-50 in the finals to avenge an early-February loss to the same team and claim the program’s second consecutive RIIL Division III Championship, both coming against Juanita Sanchez.

The Cougars were led by junior forward Kyle Prete with 18. Senior guard Ryan Rodriguez also played a big offensive role, adding 11. Sophomore guard Jeremiah Lenus contributed 9 in a great all-around performance. The championship-winning effort came in honor of teammate Gary Cleveland, who was tragically injured severely in an accident just a couple of months prior to the triumph.

Juanita Sanchez was led by senior wing Taurean Williams, who dropped a game-high 23 points, seeing support from freshman guard Kyle Delves, who had 15, but it wouldn’t be enough to survive Head Coach Fernando Torres and North Providence. 

Stay tuned as we continue our state-by-state championship recaps next week.