Basketball Game Preview: Pilgrim Patriots vs. Coventry Oakers

The Pilgrim Patriots will face off against the Coventry Oakers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pilgrim has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Pilgrim is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: South Kingstown, who was ranked tenth at the time (Pilgrim was ranked 12th). Pilgrim took a 72-67 hit to the loss column at the hands of South Kingstown. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Saturday (57), the Patriots still had to take the loss.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Coventry, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They claimed a resounding 73-40 victory over St. Raphael Academy.

Coventry pushed their record up to 10-7 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.0 points per game. As for Pilgrim, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-7 record this season.

Everything went Pilgrim's way against Coventry when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as Pilgrim made off with a 67-46 victory. Does Pilgrim have another victory up their sleeve, or will Coventry turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.