By ALEX SPONSELLER The Pilgrim boys basketball team dropped its season opener on the road 64-56 when it took on East Greenwich last weekend.

It was a tale of two halves for the Pats, who came out strong and took a 37-30 lead into the halftime break. But the Avengers would get right to work in the second and were led by Jack McMullen who scored 35 points and helped EG complete the comeback victory.

“We got away from what we did well in the first half. We were preaching taking care of the ball on passes, we wanted to get into the paint, work on from there, and we got away from it. They slowed us down a little bit and we didn’t adjust well to that. It’s the makings of a first game with only being able to scrimmage ourselves. We just didn’t really fight back when they had their runs,” said Pilgrim coach Matt Fontaine.

Although the Pats were holding steady in the early minutes of the second, they would lose control of the game when the Avengers went on a 17-0 run, 13 of which being scored by McMullen.

“If he’s going to have a day like that, then he’s going to have a day like that,” said Fontaine of McMullen’s day. “We did a decent job on the ball, we need to be a little better off the ball, sliding in, taking charges, keeping our hands high. They got hot at the end and played with confidence and we didn’t.”

Pilgrim was led by junior Jayden Weeden with 15 points, followed by Jared Reminder with 12 and Tyriek Weeks with 11.

Weeden, who transferred from Bishop Hendricken, is expected to be a big addition to this Pilgrim lineup.

“He’s a dynamic piece and we’re trying to see where he fits in. He’s athletic and can do a lot for us. He’s quick on his feet. It’s all about piecing it together, our bench was good, we have to continue to rotate lineups, it’s a short season,” said Fontaine. “It was a tough game, it was a back and forth battle between the two of us which it is every season. It’s just about getting used to everything because in-game situations are different.”

The Avengers also were effective in shutting down Pilgrim star Weeks, holding him to no points throughout the second half.

“We could have done a better job of spacing and getting the ball to him. Again, we went away from our key points including spacing,” said Fontaine. “They threw two or three guys at him, we probably didn’t get as many shots off either so we weren’t getting those offensive rebound opportunities. That’s something we’ll address, we just need to get prepared for the next one.”

With such a short season, Fontaine hopes to see his team shake off the loss and turn things around quickly.

“It’s huge, we have nine games, we don’t have 18 games like most years. You’ve got to sleep it off and get to the next one. We know what we have, we know we’re a good group.”