SPORTS

Buzzer beater

Titans edge rival Pats 42-40 in thriller

Posted 2/9/22

By RYAN D. MURRAY Syriis Price beat the buzzer with a putback layup and lifted the Titans over Pilgrim 42-40 late Thursday evening during a Boys Division II Basketball battle in a packed Toll Gate gymnasium. Alex Usher topped the Titans with 17 points

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SPORTS

Buzzer beater

Titans edge rival Pats 42-40 in thriller

Posted

By RYAN D. MURRAY Syriis Price beat the buzzer with a putback layup and lifted the Titans over Pilgrim 42-40 late Thursday evening during a Boys Division II Basketball battle in a packed Toll Gate gymnasium.

Alex Usher topped the Titans with 17 points while Jude Booth chipped in nine points.

Toll Gate head coach Tom Rayko was thrilled to get a victory over its city rival.

“That’s always good,” Rayko said. “C’mon. Crosstown man. That’s one of the biggest games on the calendar. Whether you’re good, bad, whatever, you’re coming to play against the crosstown.”

The boys’ game was part of a doubleheader, which saw the girls’ team hand Shea/Tolman Co-op. its first loss in overtime on the same floor.

“Crazy,” Rayko said. “A lot of excitement tonight.”

The game was played in front of a full house with fans from both schools filling up the bleachers and rooting on their team.

“A great crowd,” Rayko said. “This is what it should be. You know, have some fun in high school basketball.”

“We’ve got good fans,” Pilgrim head coach Sean Henseler added. “They’re good at home, and in this COVID environment, it’s great to have the kids out - both schools. This is what high school basketball is supposed to be. So, I was glad to have that. I think all the kids enjoyed it, whether they were in the stands or on the court. It just so happens they hit the big shot at the end and their fans got to get a little louder, but it was a good basketball game.”

Jayden Weeden, who usually plays shooting guard, started at point guard, and led the Patriots with 15 points.

“This was his first game playing point guard, so it was actually pretty good from that standpoint,” Henseler said.

DJ Sollitto, a senior, finished second in scoring for the Pats with eight points.  

Henseler was happy with his team’s effort overall and just disappointed they squandered so many chances.

“I thought the team’s effort was good,” Henseler said. “I thought the defense was pretty good. If you hold another team in the low 40s you have a pretty good chance of winning. That’s our goal every night. Unfortunately, we could not put the ball in the basket to save our lives. We had a lot of open looks, layups, and missed free throws. So, when you miss that many opportunities and you have over 15 turnovers that was the difference in the game.”

The Titans jumped out to an early 6-0 advantage when Booth scored two buckets and Price added another.

Colby Barker, a junior, pulled the Pats within 6-2 when he buried a basket.

Next, Pilgrim got within 6-5 when Sollitto buried a 3-point basket after an assist from Weeden.

Mark Woods then evened the game at 6 for Pilgrim while making one of two from the charity stripe.

Next, the Pats took an 8-6 lead when Weeden scored with a layup after an inbound pass.

However, Usher evened the game at 8 when he scored with a putback.

Booth closed the first quarter with a layup and Toll Gate owned a 10-8 lead.

Usher opened the second quarter with a reverse layup put back and extended the Titans lead to 12-8.

With 2:19 remaining in the first half, Pilgrim evened the score at 17 when Sollitto scored with a put back.

Next, Mason Link made a trey and gave the Pats a 20-17 advantage.

Nonetheless, Booth answered with a 3 of his own and Usher a put back, as time expired, and that gave the Titans a 22-20 lead as the teams headed for halftime.

Like the first half, the Titans opened the second with a 6-0 run and drew a 28-20 lead, their largest of the contest.

Pilgrim was able to cut the deficit in half and trailed just 31-27 at the end of the third quarter.

Pilgrim evened the game at 40 when Dylan Vale stole an inbound pass and dished to Link for a 3-pointer. That’s when Price answered with the game-winner for Toll Gate.

“We played a very tough game and we just came to play and we did our thing,” Price concluded.

However, Toll Gate, who is playing a crammed schedule, has dropped three straight games since - against Burrillville, Chariho, and the Wheeler School. The Titans play next at Coventry on Thursday, and then at home against Cranston West on Friday.

Pilgrim lost to Middletown on Monday and played at North Providence on Wednesday. That score was unavailable at press time. The Pats will travel to Lincoln on Thursday, and then host Johnston on Saturday afternoon.

Pilgrim, Titans, basketball

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