Homecoming for two Portsmouth players at Spring Classic

Cole Swider, Chris Herren play in fund-raiser for Maher Center

Cole Swider of Portsmouth, a junior at St. Andrew’s School, pushes past opponents as he drives toward the net during the second annual Higher Learning Sports Spring Classic Wednesday. He was the high-scorer for the night, with 45 points.

TIM MARSHALL

Chris Herren of Portsmouth, a sophomore at Tabor Academy, sinks a three-point shot during the Higher Learing Sports Spring Classic. The former Portsmouth High School player won the three-point contest at halftime.

TIM MARSHALL

Matt Clark of the Portsmouth High School team looks for an open teammate.

TIM MARSHALL

Cole Swider of Portsmouth, a junior at St. Andrew’s School, plants his feet on the three-point line and shoots during a drive to the net.

TIM MARSHALL

Andrew Fronts, a senior at Portsmouth Abbey, takes a shot on the opposing team’s net.

TIM MARSHALL

Tyler Murray of Tiverton High School passes a recovered rebound to a teammate during the Higher Learning Sports Spring Classic. He played for the winning Navy team and finished with 10 points.

TIM MARSHALL

EastBayRI.com · Thursday, March 30, 2017 4:16 pm

PORTSMOUTH — The top boys high school basketball players from public and private school around the state converged at Portsmouth High School Wednesday night for the second annual Higher Learning Sports Spring Classic.

Portions of proceeds from the event benefited the James Maher Center in Middletown, which supports adults with developmental disabilities.

The game turned into a high-scoring thriller, as team Navy won in overtime, 132-130, over White.

It was a homecoming of sorts for two former Portsmouth High School players.

While he played for the losing team, Cole Swider of Portsmouth, who’s now a member of the St. Andrew’s School squad, was the overall high scorer with 45 points. He scored 24 of his points in the first half, which powered White to a 69-64 lead at the break.

Cole was recently named Rhode Island’s Gatorade Player of the Year, which distinguished him as the top high school basketball player in the state.

Portsmouth’s Chris Herren, now playing for Tabor Academy, added 22 points from the bench. He also won the three-point shooting contest at halftime.

Matt Clark of the PHS and Portsmouth Abbey’s Andrew Fonts each scored six points.

Tyler Murray of Tiverton High School, playing for Navy, finished with 10 points.

Keywords

Cole Swider, Chris Herren, Portsmouth High School