Yankee scores 30 as Panthers fall to Pats

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The Pilgrim Patriots held on to beat the Johnston Panthers, 72-66, on Tuesday night in Warwick. Pilgrim had four players score in double digits – Nate Ferri (16), Matt Woods (14), Dave Cabeceiras (13) and Jake Gonsalves (12).

“I think offensively we were balanced,” Pilgrim head coach Chris LeBlanc said. “That’s what we need to do to be competitive when we play against a good team like that. I’m happy that we did that. It’s one in the win column.”

Johnston senior standout Ryan Yankee had a game-high 30 points, while his teammate and co-captain Nas Vasquez finished with 20.

Yankee got Johnston on the board first with a turnaround hook shot. Then, Pilgrim’s Ferri banged a shot from downtown to give the Pats a 3-2 edge. On Pilgrim’s next possession, Ferri dished to senior Matt Coughlin, who drilled a 3-pointer to increase Pilgrim’s lead to four. It was the first start of the season for Coughlin.

“He’s a kid that’s always a hard worker, a senior and when you work your butt off in practice, I think you deserve to get a shot there,” LeBlanc said. “He played well. Defensively, he’s solid.”

Moments later, Yankee scored a layup while he got fouled. The 6-foot-2 forward added the free throw and pulled the Panthers within 7-5. However, Pilgrim’s Cabeceiras hit a 3-point shot to put Pilgrim up five. Then, Gonsalves made a layup and buried a 3 ball to help Pilgrim jump out to a 15-5 advantage.  

Down the other end, Vasquez grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in to cut the deficit to eight. On the Panthers’ next possession, Vasquez drove the baseline and made a pretty one-handed floater to pull Johnston within six.

But, Pilgrim would keep its foot on the gas. First, Cabeceiras buried a 3-pointer. A minute later, Gonsalves came up with a steal and passed to Woods, who left it underneath for Cabeceiras for the finish, giving Pilgrim a 21-12 advantage with about six minutes to play in the first half. Pilgrim would go up by as much as 12.

Nevertheless, Johnston clawed its way back into it before the break. Yankee started by hitting a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 10. On Johnston’s next possession, Yankee made a spin move before heading for the hoop and drawing the foul. Again, Yankee made two free throws and cut it to eight.

With less than a minute left in the first half, Johnston’s Andrew Zalisk came up with a theft and assisted to Vasquez for the old-fashioned three-point play, pulling the Panthers within 29-25. Shortly after, Zalisk nailed a shot from downtown to cut the deficit to three at 31-28 heading into halftime.

Pilgrim struck first in the second half when Ferri scored a bucket. Then, Yankee answered with a corner 3 to pull the Panthers within two. Shortly after, Vasquez passed inbound to Yankee for a layup to tie the game at 33.

With 14:18 remaining in the contest, Vasquez passed ahead to Kyle Nelson for a layup to put Johnston up 35-33. Shortly after, Zalisk stole the ball and passed to Yankee, who drilled a 3-pointer, giving Johnston a six-point lead.

Three minutes later, Woods found Ferri for a 3 ball to cut the Pilgrim deficit to 44-41. Next, Ferri slashed to the basket and made the layup plus a free throw to cut the deficit to one.

Pilgrim took the lead, 45-44, when Woods passed inside to James Baldwin for a layup. During Pilgrim’s next possession, Woods got it to Gonsalves for a 3-pointer to give the Pats a four-point advantage.

After a pair of free throws from Johnston’s Vasquez, Woods answered with a shot from downtown to put Pilgrim up 51-46. Shortly after, Pilgrim’s Jarod Sickinger scored a bucket to increase the Pilgrim lead to 55-46 with 6:01 left. Pilgrim would coast the rest of the way, winning 72-66.

Johnston lost despite big games from both Yankee and Vasquez.

“They’re the two guys we’re looking for,” Johnston head coach Ed Bedrosian said. “But right now, we’re scrambling because we’re bringing up swing players. We got four seniors down right now because of injuries. We’re just trying to find the right rotation and we’re only playing seven guys.”

Even though they were shorthanded, Johnston kept it close for the most part.

“Yankee got in foul trouble, which kind of hurt us a little bit in the second half,” Bedrosian said. “It is what it is. You can only play as hard as you can play.”

Pilgrim improved its league record to 10-5, while Johnston fell to 7-7.

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