The Pilgrim Patriots went to Coventry High School on Monday night and were crushed by the Oakers 73-36 during a Boys Division II Basketball showdown.

The Pats entered the contest with the better record of the two teams, but injuries have plagued Pilgrim as of late.

“Right now we’re struggling,” Pats head coach Sean Henseler said. “Three of our seniors are out for the season with injuries. So, we’ve got a very young team. We’re trying to build and we’re trying to learn, but it was not a very good effort tonight. That’s what bothered me the most. I don’t think the effort was quite there.”

Senior forward Mark Woods and senior guard Colby Barker are out with ACL injuries, while Tyler Fuller, a senior guard, has a stress fracture.

“It’s too bad for them because they’re seniors and this is their final year,” Henseler said. “But for the moment, they’re out. Even for baseball season, they’re out. So, it’s tough for them.”

Isaiah Price, a senior forward, led the Pats with 13 points.

“Isaiah Price started the game pretty good,” Henseler said. “Hit a couple shots. But we’ve been struggling to score the ball all year. So, we kind of need Isaiah to step up. This is his first year playing varsity basketball. This is the first year for most of the kids playing varsity basketball. So, we’re still a young team trying to figure out how to score the ball and how to play defense. And we’ll get there.”

Carter Clifton, a sophomore forward, finished second in scoring on Pilgrim with eight points.

“He’s only a sophomore, too,” Henseler said. “So, Carter’s learning and he’s growing. Some nights, he scores the ball pretty well for us. Other nights, he struggles. He kind of struggled tonight, but listen, it’s a young team. I don’t have expectations of winning the championship. We just want to go out and play hard and get better every game. So, that’s what we’re after.”

Coventry’s Logan Voelker, a junior forward, topped all scorers with 23 points, and Sam Fuentes, a junior guard, chipped in nine points, while Joel Albanesa, a junior guard, and Jake Allen, a senior guard, added eight points apiece.

Allen and Voelker started the showdown by nailing back-to-back 3-pointers, which put the Oakers up 6-0, right out of the gate.

Next, Price made a pair of free throws to get Pilgrim on the scoreboard at 6-2.

Then, Noah Gaudreau, a Coventry senior center, scored with a put back, before his teammate Nathan Collins scored with a runner, and that put the Oakers on top 10-2.

Pilgrim’s Clifton answered with a 3-pointer, from the top of the arc, and it cut the Pats deficit in half at 10-5.

Nevertheless, Voelker responded with an old-fashioned 3-point play, and gave Coventry a 13-5 advantage.

Pilgrim went on a 7-0 run after that and pulled within 13-12 when Price scored with an And-1, plus a driving bucket, and Coe Bigelli, a junior forward, made a layup.

Nevertheless, Voelker responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing and that gave the Oakers a 16-12 lead.

With 1:13 remaining in the first quarter, Sam Fuentes, a junior guard, sank a corner trey and extended the Coventry lead to 21-15.

Early in the second quarter, Albanesa scored with a floater, and then Ben Carignan added a 3ball, and that increased the Oakers advantage to 30-19.

Price answered with a jump shot, which got the Pats within 30-21, but then Coventry closed the first half on a 15-2 run and took a commanding 45-23 buffer into halftime.

The Oakers opened the third frame on a 9-0 spurt and extended their margin to 54-23, after Allen scored with a reverse layup, Gaudreau, and Aiden Reardon, a pair of put backs, and Voelker, a 3-pointer.

Coventry maintained that distance for the duration of the contest.

The Pats fell to 3-4 in the league with the loss and sat at 4-7 overall.

Pilgrim played on Wednesday evening at home against South Kingstown, but that score was unavailable at press time. The Pats play next at Chariho on Friday night at 7 pm.