The Pilgrim boys basketball team’s championship aspirations have not wavered as it has won three straight games, most recently beating visiting Cranston East 67-53 on Monday night.
After playing to a 12-12 score after one quarter, the Pats would catch fire and play a dominant second frame to mount a 35-25 advantage at halftime. Pilgrim didn’t look back in the second half and remained in control on both ends of the floor to pick up the Division II win. The victory improved the Pats’ record to 6-1 overall.
Senior point guard Dylan Vale led the way with 19 points, while Jack Bannon added 16, Carter Clifton 13 and Jayden Ames 11.
The Pats used the momentum from the second-quarter surge to close things out down the stretch.
“We just planned on continuing the runs that we were going on in the first half. We finished the half by going on a 6-0 run. We were looking to keep getting stops and scoring,” said Vale.
The Pats will next face red-hot North Providence on Thursday night. Pilgrim is eyeing a deep run in Division II and a spot in the open state tournament after returning nearly its entire roster from last year.
“Our seniors have played together since we were in third, fourth grade. It’s all coming together now that we’re 17, 18 years old. It’s been a lot of fun to play and a lot of fun to watch. We wanted to (win a title) a couple years ago when we had a good core then last year we fell to the middle of the pack. I think we’re one of the top four teams in Division II and one of the top eight in the state,” said Vale, who has also enjoyed seeing some breakout seasons from guys like Bannon and Jack Cirelli. “They all played last year and got their first varsity minutes. They look a lot more comfortable this year. I love it. We just need to continue to lock down on defense. Keep the core together and keep playing hard together.”
East was led by Darien Peterson, who scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half as he tried to keep the Bolts in striking distance. Alex Fernandez reached double figures with 11 points.
“We’re figuring ourselves out. We have a great group of kids that are trying to put it all together. Trying to figure ourselves out offensively and play tougher defensively. We’ll figure it out, we’re really bonded with a good group in place. Things will be bright in the next few weeks,” said East coach David DelFino, who returns for his second season as the team’s head coach.
The Bolts dropped to 3-4 overall with the loss. Although East will be looking to snap its recent skid, DelFino has been encouraged by what he has seen and feels that the team is further along in its rebuild than it was this time last year.
“Last year was a survival year. We were really just trying to get our culture in place and those guys did a great job of setting that foundation. We came in this season and our character is high and we can focus on basketball stuff. I’m excited to see what the next slate of games looks like for us,” DelFino said.