It was no surprise that Toll Gate’s Jack Colvin felt comfortable in Pilgrim’s gym Monday night. “I remember being a kid, coming here with my dad,” said Colvin, whose father, …
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It was no surprise that Toll Gate’s Jack Colvin felt comfortable in Pilgrim’s gym Monday night.
“I remember being a kid, coming here with my dad,” said Colvin, whose father, Ed, coached baseball and basketball at Pilgrim for many years and still teaches at the school. “I practically grew up on this court.”
The real surprise was how much the whole Toll Gate team made itself at home.
Playing up a level in the face of a boisterous crowd, the visitors sprung an upset. Colvin pumped in five 3-pointers and the Titans built a stunning lead before holding off a furious charge by Pilgrim for a 50-47 victory.
“This is only my third experience with Pilgrim and Toll Gate, and I have to tell you, this place was really rocking,” Toll Gate coach Richard Grenier said. “It was a real nice atmosphere. This is what high school sports should be about. Give Pilgrim credit. They had a nice comeback. I had a lot of kids who were tired, a lot of kids who played 32 minutes. I think fatigue hurt us down the stretch. But we did what we had to do to pull it out.”
Both teams have been among the best in their respective divisions this winter. Pilgrim came into Monday’s game at 9-4 in Division II, while Toll Gate entered at 10-2 in D-III.
It was the Titans who took control, separating themselves in the second quarter and pushing the lead out to 20 in a dominant third quarter.
Colvin’s 3-point range knew no limits, particularly when he powered Toll Gate’s early move. He broke a 12-12 tie with a 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter, then buried three more in the second quarter, each one seemingly further back from the arc than the last.
“This is probably one of, if not the biggest game of my career so far,” Colvin said. “It was something special. It was a real full-circle moment, seeing my dad in the stands when he used to take me to these games.”
The hot shooting helped the Titans build a double-digit lead. Jack Larrivee drilled a 3 just before the halftime buzzer to put Toll Gate in front 34-21 at the break.
While it was bombs away for the Titans, the Patriots couldn’t buy a basket. They missed a host of shots in the paint and were equally cold from outside. They managed just two field goals in the second quarter.
“We shot 7-for-31 in the first half and we were 0-for-13 from 3,” Pilgrim coach Sean Henseler said. “That’s tough to come back from. And we didn’t shoot it well in the third quarter either.”
It seemed impossible that the Patriots’ cold shooting would last all night, and it didn’t - but it went on a lot longer than they expected. The Patriots didn’t score through the first 6:57 of the third quarter. In the meantime, Toll Gate got two driving buckets from Liam Leahy in a 7-0 run that pushed the lead to 20.
“We’ve been playing defense all year,” Grenier said. “Some of my old West Warwick teams, we would try to out-score teams. Here at Toll Gate, we’re just a scrappy defensive team. We have some guys who can shoot, but we do a lot on the defensive end. To be able to hold Pilgrim to 21 points until the end of the third quarter, I give a lot of credit to the kids that were out there. We didn’t allow too much penetration until the very end and that was the key - forcing them to take outside shots.”
The Titans stayed comfortably in front even into the fourth quarter. Colvin’s fifth 3-pointer of the night made it an 18-point lead with just 4:15 remaining and felt like the dagger.
Instead, Pilgrim lifted itself off the mat. Derrick Butler got a 3-pointer to fall with 4:01 left, and the Patriots ramped up their defensive pressure. Turnovers on three straight Toll Gate possessions led to three consecutive buckets by Dylan Vale, which made it an eight-point game. Carter Clifton scored inside with 1:59 left to make it 50-44, and Vale buried a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining to get Pilgrim within three at 50-47. The crowd was buzzing.
“It’s an unreal experience,” Colvin said. “The fans, the student sections. It was a great run by them. You couldn’t even hear yourself think. That’s a great atmosphere.”
Leahy was fouled with 18 seconds left and missed both free throws, keeping the door open for the Patriots. Butler got a good look on a 3-pointer from the right wing as the clock ticked under 10 seconds but missed it. Clifton grabbed the offensive rebound, and the ball eventually got to Vale for a tough 3-point try at the top of the key. He just missed it as the buzzer sounded.
“The kids gave themselves a chance,” Henseler said. “They didn’t quit. We had a good look here at the end. And then we had an OK look on the last shot. But listen, you can’t win when you shoot it like that.”
Toll Gate didn’t score for the final 4:15 of the game - and was on the wrong end of a 15-0 run as a result - but held on for the signature win.
Fans celebrated on the court after the final buzzer and one fan from the Toll Gate section ran to the Pilgrim student section, but Pilgrim officials quickly de-escalated the situation. The teams were not involved in the extracurriculars.
Colvin’s 15 points led Toll Gate. Brayden Healey added 12 points. Damola Oremosu had a big second half and finished with nine points while Leahy scored eight.
Vale led the Pilgrim comeback and led all scorers with 22 points. Clifton chipped in 10.
The win gives Toll Gate bragging rights and a nice boost in the RIIL power rankings.
“It means everything,” Colvin said. “Losing to them back to back years and pretty bad losses - to come out here and give 110 percent is the best.”
The game was the start of a big week for the Patriots, who also have D-II leader North Providence on the schedule. They’re hoping to learn from the defeat.
“I told the kids, ‘You’re not going to think so because this is a rivalry game and it’s for bragging rights,’ but in the long run, this is going to be better for our team that we had this experience,” Henseler said. “We haven’t had this yet - having to come from behind. They see that it’s doable. They didn’t quit. As a coach, while I’m disappointed, I do think something positive can come from this.”
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