Drew Herren leads Portsmouth Middle School boys basketball team to state championship

Drew Herren is making a name for himself.

The son of former NBA player Chris Herren connected on a long-range shot to keep the Portsmouth Middle School boys basketball team alive in the state tournament on Thursday, then poured in 22 points two days later to lead the Patriots to a championship.

Portsmouth, the No. 7 seed in the 16-team state tournament, edged No. 8 Narragansett Pier 54-51 in the title game Saturday at Johnston High School.

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“The kid is relentless, tenacious and incredible," Portsmouth coach Jared Conheeny said of Herren, a seventh-grader. "He's just a little warrior."

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In Saturday's championship, the Patriots trailed by eight points before making a run and taking a one-point lead. They then found themselves down by seven before coming back again.

Kayleb Ruszczyk, who finished with 12 points, and Jackson Hackley helped spur the rallies down the stretch with some key baskets, and Orion Silva came through with a big block on a corner 3-point attempt to keep Portsmouth ahead late.

"Narragansett did a great job throughout the entire game, but eventually we forced enough turnovers which led to big scoring opportunities for us to come back from big deficits in the fourth quarter," Conheeny said.

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The Patriots ended the season with a record of 12-1 and went through a pair of undefeated teams in No. 2 Lincoln and No. 3 De La Salle in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

"It was like David vs. Goliath all week and we had one extra stop," Conheeny said. "Middle school is a true state championship. There are 40 teams in the middle school league. It is unbelivly hard to win."

The last time Portsmouth Middle School won the state championship, soon-to-be NCAA Division I players Cole Swider and Chris Herren Jr. were on the roster. This time, the youngest Herren took center stage.

In the win over De La Salle on Thursday, Drew Herren knocked down a deep 3-pointer — almost near half court — as time expired to send Portsmouth to a 44-41 triumph.

Conheeny said last year's team went undefeated, but didn't get the chance to compete in the state tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the Patriots defeated Narragansett in the finals on Saturday, they received a police escort back to the school.

"This is 100% a community victory," Conheeney said. "Portsmouth Youth Basketball is an unbelievable organization run by an amazing group of people."

Other team members include Xavier Fox, Nolan Fox, Luke Brandariz, Nico Colantuono, Jack Casey, Michael Faria, Braden Coyle, Liam Casey, AJ Purvis, Brady MacDonald, Jack Clarke and Brick Babine. Rich Doyle serves as an assistant coach.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI middle school boys basketball: Herren, Portsmouth win state title