After title win, Pats to make most of opportunity in state tournament

Matt Metcalf, Sports Editor
Posted 3/5/15

On Sunday, Pilgrim won its first boys’ basketball title in school history. Less than a week later, the Pats will achieve another milestone, as they’ll play in the 16-team state tournament – …

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After title win, Pats to make most of opportunity in state tournament

Posted

On Sunday, Pilgrim won its first boys’ basketball title in school history. Less than a week later, the Pats will achieve another milestone, as they’ll play in the 16-team state tournament – another first for the school.

Pilgrim played its way into the tournament, earning the 15-seed, after a remarkable run through the Division III tournament that included an upset of second-seeded Scituate in the semifinals and a 10-point win over Johnston in the finals at Brown University.

“There have been a lot of people congratulating us,” Pilgrim head coach Mike Batalon said. “It’s definitely a nice feeling to make school history.”

The accomplishment isn’t one that should be taken lightly and it should be celebrated for quite some time.

However, the Pats will have to turn their focus to another opponent this week.

As the 15-seed, Pilgrim will play the Division I champion, La Salle Academy, in the first round of the state tournament.

The Pats will be going into the tournament with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“We’re excited for the opportunity,” Batalon said. “It’s a cool thing for us, especially with the bracket show on Monday. There’s no pressure at all.”

The Rams entered the D-I tournament as the three-seed, ending the regular season with a record of 13-3.

La Salle then fought its way into the division final, where it was able to erase a second-half deficit to defeat North Kingstown, 60-52.

The Rams got a game-high 21 points from C.J. Waite in the D-I final and Larry Sabir has paced La Salle’s offensive attack throughout the year, averaging 15.5 points per game.

Batalon and his staff don’t know much about La Salle and its style of play, but he always expects the same thing from his team.

“I want my team to be the hardest working team on the court,” Batalon said.

As the game approaches, the Pats will adjust in terms of a game plan, but Batalon knows what his team needs to do in order to give themselves a shot to win.

“They’re extremely athletic,” Batalon said. “We’re going to be looking to slow the game down and handle their defensive pressure.”

Opportunities like this don’t come around too often in the state. Arguments always arise among fans in regards to whether a team can compete with a team in another division. On Thursday, Pilgrim will get that chance to see where they stack up against one of the top teams in the state.

“The kids are excited and looking forward to competing at the highest level,” Batalon said.

Back at the beginning of the season, when Pilgrim had a record of 1-3, I’m sure there were very few people who thought that the Pats would end up in the state tournament at the end of the divisional playoffs.

The Pats and Rams will tip at 6 p.m. at Rhode Island College tonight.

No matter what happens, Pilgrim has had its best season in school history. This group of players can say for the rest of their lives that they were on the team that won the first ever boys’ basketball championship at Pilgrim.

The Pats have nothing to lose – they’ve earned the right to enjoy the ride.

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