Last modified: Thursday, December 27, 2007 12:24 AM EST LaSalle tops Feehan BY PETER GOBIS SUN CHRONICLE STAFF EAST PROVIDENCE - Taking an early lead, playing good enough defense that their foes missed 10 of their first 11 shots from the floor, owning a nine-point lead with five minutes left until intermission, the Bishop Feehan High boys' basketball team was doing what was needed to be done at both ends of the floor. Then, all the mechanics broke down. The Shamrocks were outscored 19-5 over the final five minutes of the first half and then were outscored 12-2 over the first six minutes of the second half in succumbing 70-55 to LaSalle Academy of Providence in the opening round of the East Providence Community Classic Wednesday evening. "I was very happy with the first half, that was probably the best half that we've played," said Bishop Feehan mentor Matt Freeman. "Then we broke down." That is, the Shamrocks made just one shot from the floor through the first 11 minutes of the second half, a combination of bad passes and bad shots, while at the other end, the Rams twice scored six unanswered points (for a 50-35 lead), then scored a dozen straight points for a 66-40 advantage. "Early on our kids didn't have their legs," said LaSalle coach Ed Heroux, the former head coach at Seekonk High. "Our team (2-3) is trying to develop a chemistry right now and this was a good game for us." Pucci Angell drained a trio of three-point field goals and finished with 16 points, while 6-5 senior center Neil Rooney delivered a dozen points and eight rebounds, all told 10 Rams entering into the scoring column. The winless (0-4) Shamrocks had eight players score points with Ryan Lee being the lone double-digit producer with 10. The Shamrocks trailed by just five (38-33) at halftime, but neither their 2-3 zone, nor man-to-man defenses were effective against LaSalle, which hit on eight of its first 15 shots from the floor, while a pair of Rooney offensive rebounds produced points, while another half-dozen came off of Bishop Feehan turnovers. Other than a Mike Adams three-point field goal for Feehan at the six-minute mark, the Shamrocks were no match for the Rams' man-to-man defense, unable to screen for perimeter shots, unable to get an effective inside-outside game working. "We're struggling right now, struggling individually, struggling as a team," said Freeman. Were it not for the Shamrocks scoring the final 13 points of the game with Matt Boulter and Bryan Webb hitting three-pointers, the final deficit could have been a big number. And yet, Feehan played well in the first half - shooting 12-for-26 - scoring 33 points. However, the Shamrocks also committed 11 turnovers and after LaSalle's erratic shooting to start, the Rams then went 13-for-18. A steal by Mike Mathieu set up a Nick Schwieger basket; a Chris Vilandre blocked shot set up a drive to the basket by Schwieger; Mike McGowan finished off a fast break on a pass from Matt Boulter for an 18-13 lead. The Shamrocks created their largest lead at 28-19 as both Lee and Schwieger hit trifectas, McGowan went back door (on a feed from Schwieger) and Mathieu converted a steal. Then all the good Shamrock deeds came to a close - Brent Hopkins and Joe Ferri hitting three-pointers for LaSalle, Angell scoring five straight points and Rooney scoring four more. "We were running good sets there in the first half, then we started to take a lot of ill-advised shots and went away from the boards," said Freeman, whose Shamrocks play in the consolation round tonight.