Weeks scores 27 as Pats edge Panthers

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 12/29/15

Sophomore forward Tyrone Weeks scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half last Wednesday to help the Pilgrim boys’ basketball team erase a nine-point halftime deficit en route to a …

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Weeks scores 27 as Pats edge Panthers

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Sophomore forward Tyrone Weeks scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half last Wednesday to help the Pilgrim boys’ basketball team erase a nine-point halftime deficit en route to a 55-49 win over Johnston.

Nine points from Johnston’s Nas Vasquez and eight from Ryan Yankee helped the Panthers build the first-half lead, while a trio of 3-pointers from Ethan Schneider over the first 16 minutes kept the Pats in striking distance going into the break.

But in the second half, it was the Weeks show.

Weeks finished the game with 27 points and 14 rebounds – both game-highs – while a corner 3-pointer gave his team a three-point lead with just under a minute left.

“He works hard on his game year-round,” Pilgrim head coach Mike Batalon said. “He works hard in practice, and he just continues to get better and gains more confidence with each game.”

After a slow start to the first half, the rematch of last year’s Division III title game began to pick up steam.

Yankee, Johnston’s leading scorer, drained a 3-pointer with seven minutes left in the first half, pushing the Panthers ahead 15-7.

Weeks answered a couple of minutes later when he collected an offensive rebound and banked in a shot from in close to cut Pilgrim’s deficit to 3.

But Johnston would stretch its lead to close out the half. An and-1 from Johnston point guard Jake Coro gave the Panthers a 29-20 lead with 52 seconds to go, as they finished the first half with a 7-0 run.

“We just wanted to stay the course and play good defense,” Batalon said of his message to the team at halftime. “We wanted to keep our heads up and get as many defensive stops as we could to get back in the game.”

Pilgrim came out of the locker room strong, going on a 7-0 run of its own over the first 1:30 of the second half.

The Pats had all of the momentum and, with 12:24 left, Yankee picked up his fourth foul and was sent to the bench.

Johnston would show some resilience with its offensive leader on the bench, as Tyler Nasisi made a layup with just south of 10 minutes left to give the Panthers a 40-30 lead.

The 10-point deficit caused Batalon to call a full timeout.

That call proved to pay dividends. After the timeout, Pilgrim ripped off a 25-9 run to end the game, led by Weeks, who did a bit of everything for the Pats down the stretch.

A technical foul assessed to Vasquez with 5:06 to go allowed Pilgrim to tie the game at 45 after a pair of free throws from Weeks.

Because of a team rule, Vasquez, one of Johnston’s top all-around players, had to sit for the rest of the game following the technical.

Johnston would fight until the end, though.

Mike Sabitoni scored on a layup for Johnston with less than three minutes left to give Johnston a brief two-point lead.

But Pilgrim would come back to regain the lead with buckets on back-to-back possessions, with Matt Woods draining a jumper before Weeks drove the length of the floor for a layup.

A straight away jumper from Johnston’s Peter Smith tied the game at 52.

However, a dagger 3-pointer from Weeks in the final minute silenced the crowd and gave the Pats a three-point lead.

Brandon Lawton would sink a pair of free throws in the final seconds to ice the game.

The win kept the Pats undefeated in league play, pushing its record out to 4-0.

Pilgrim is confident following the strong start, but it’s not ready to look past any opponent.

“We’re very excited to be off to an undefeated start, but we’re just trying to take it one game at a time,” Batalon said.

The Pats continued their winning ways in the West Warwick Holiday Classic on Sunday, defeating Scituate 64-28 behind 18 points from Weeks and 14 from Anthony Stevens.

Pilgrim was set to play Masters on Monday, but results were unavailable at press time. Pilgrim will play host West Warwick at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the final game of the round robin tournament.

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