Panthers come up just short in D-III finals

Johnston entered Sunday’s Division III title game with immense confidence.

The Panthers had upset top-seeded Moses Brown two nights prior behind a game-high 24 points from Ryan Yankee, and had beaten their championship opponent, Pilgrim, earlier in the season on the road.

But Johnston’s attempt to capture a fourth boys’ basketball title fell just short at Brown University, as Pilgrim used a late first-half surge to build a lead, in an eventual 65-55 victory over the Panthers.

From the jump, it was evident that there was a mismatch in the front court, as the Pats just simply had more size than the Panthers.

Because Johnston’s leading scorer, Yankee, is one of its tallest players, he was forced to cover one of Pilgrim’s big men. As a result, in an attempt to hold his own in the paint, Yankee picked up three quick fouls in the first half.

Although Yankee went to the bench with no points, Johnston was able to build an early 14-13 lead, thanks in large part to the play of senior Larry Dureault, who was determined to end his career with a win.

But in a sudden turnaround, Pilgrim ended the opening half on a 17-4 run to take a 30-18 lead into the break.

Johnston still felt confident that it could make a comeback, despite being in a 12-point hole.

“Guys were trying to do too much in the first half,” Johnston head coach Steve DeMeo said. “But I told them at the half that we could come back. We were down by 26 against Warwick and came back to win.”

Not having Yankee on the court to run the offense through really hurt the Panthers towards the end of the half, as they were forcing shots and turning the ball over.

“Ryan solidifies our offense,” DeMeo said. “That really hurt us. We’re a man team and had to go to zone because of their size.”

Dureault had nine of Johnston’s 18 points in the first half, while Yankee was held scoreless.

Pilgrim senior, Chris Duchesneau, had a hand in Yankee scoring no points in the first half, as well, forcing the ball to go elsewhere in Pilgrim’s half-court defense.

“Duchesneau did a great job on Ryan (Yankee),” Pilgrim head coach Mike Batalon said. “He’s an outstanding player and we knew that we had to slow him down if we wanted to have a chance today.”

Duchesneau also knew that Yankee scored 21 points against his team earlier in the season, and was determined to make someone else beat them.

“Last time we played them, Yankee killed us,” Duchesneau said. “My whole objective in the first half was, once he crossed half-court, to pick him up and not let him touch the ball.”

In the second half, Pilgrim continued to tack on to its lead. Pats’ guard, Ethan Schneider, drilled a 3 with 11 minutes to go to give Pilgrim a 40-22 lead.

But Yankee wasn’t ready to go out quietly.

The sophomore cut Johnston’s lead to within 10, at 52-43, with four minutes left. After Peter Smith grabbed an offensive rebound, he kicked the ball out to Yankee, who splashed a 3.

Johnston was able to trim its deficit to seven points in the final minutes, but Pilgrim was tremendous from the line, continuously pushing its lead out after Johnston buckets.

Yankee did all he could after halftime, leading all scorers with 12 points in the second half.

Dureault finished with a game-high 20 points in his final game. Although he had a high point total, DeMeo felt that Dureault tried to do too much at times because of Yankee’s foul trouble and the deficit on the scoreboard.

“Larry had a great game, but sometimes he tries to do too much,” DeMeo said. “He’s the warrior of the team and he was devastated because it was his last game.”

Duchesneau led Pilgrim with 18 points, while Schneider had 14 and Tyrone Weeks scored 13.

The win propelled the Pats into the state tournament, where they earned the 15-seed.

Although it may take some time, Johnston will eventually get past the disappointment and look back on this year as a tremendous season, capped by an impressive run to the division finals.