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BARRINGTON — Needing just two points to reach the noted career milestone, Ben Engvall fairly quickly got those and several more as he and his Barrington High School mates romped to a 61-34 victory over visiting Pilgrim Tuesday, Feb. 14, in a Division II-East boys’ basketball game.

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Barrington Basketball vs Pilgrim

Photos by Richard W Dionne Jr Eagles 6'3" junior forward Benjamin Engvall scores his 1,000th point during Tuesday night's game against Pilgrim in Barrington.

Engvall, the Eagles’ 6-foot-3 junior forward, netted points Nos. 999 and 1,000 on a jumper from the free throw line about two-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Engvall finished his evening early with a team-best 19 points as Barrington turned the game into a rout in the second half.

“I got a good pass from my teammate, Jesse Browne, and I just took the shot,” Engvall, known for his slashing moves from the three spot, said of his noteworthy hoop.

Engvall became only the fourth known male in the rich, 75-plus year history of Barrington High boys’ hoops to accomplish the feat. He joins Steven Ruggieri (Class of 1979), Kevin Neuschatz (1986) and Mark McAndrew (2003) in the exclusive club. Four BHS females, including 2011 grads Kelly Mannix and Catherine Matthews, have also scored 1,000 career points giving the Eagles eight total.

“It’s about my teammates. I think it says a lot about the teammates I’ve had. They’ve gotten me the ball when I’m open. And the coaches I’ve had have been great, so I think it’s a credit to all of them, really,” Engvall added.

Though Pilgrim won the game’s opening tip, it appeared as though Engvall would notch the bucket he needed only seconds into the game after he made a steal to end the Patriots’ first possession. He fed freshman point guard Corey Daugherty, who could possibly become the next BHS male 1,000-point scorer in a few years, on the break. Daugherty returned the favor, but Engvall missed the off-balance layup.

Pilgrim would score the first points of the game moments later and Engvall once more was in position to score the needed hoop, but again missed a twisting reverse layup attempt. He then fumbled a pass on Barrington’s following possession before finding the range with the foul line jumper during the Eagles’ fourth time down the floor.

“I was a little nervous. I kind of just wanted to get it over with. I wanted to get into the flow of the game. I didn’t want to think about it too much, but I think I was thinking about it too much,” said Engvall of his early misses.

Engvall’s basket started what became a 7-0 Barrington run, which put the hosts in front for the rest of the night. Browne drained a deep 3-pointer from the wing and Nick Raymond followed with a strong move to the hole.

The Eagles gradually built on their lead during what was a grinding opening 16 minutes of action. It reached double digits for the first time (18-8) on a Connor Slye 15-foot jumper from the baseline. Slye, a team co-captain, was a spark for Barrington off the bench, scoring all eight of his points in the first half.

The locals’ ad later grew to 20 for the first time (28-8) on an Engvall layup with just over two minutes left in the period. The Patriots did score the final eight points to leave their deficit at 12 (28-16) by intermission. Engvall finished the half with 13 points.

Pilgrim made it 10 unanswered points by netting the first hoop of the second half, though that would be just about all the visitors had to offer.

Barrington scored the next nine in a row, concluding on Coleman Maglio’s old-fashioned three-point play on a layup and free throw to make the score 37-20.

Engvall, fittingly, brought Barrington’s lead back to 20, 21 actually (41-20), when he put back a miss. Maglio later drained a conventional 3 from the top to give the Eagles’ a night-high 30-point spread (52-22) with just over six minutes to play.

Daugherty finished behind Engvall on the scoresheet with 12 points. Maglio, like Slye, finished with eight. Jack Foster chipped in five off the bench in the second half.

The playoff-bound Eagles improved to 9-7 in the II-East ranks with the win and climbed back into the top 20 in the overall points standings for the upcoming 32-team Open State Tournament.

Barrington has two games remaining before the start of the postseason, Feb. 16 at home against II-East leading Rogers and on the road Feb. 21 in Tiverton. Both games tip at 7 p.m.

Engvall likely has a chance to become the all-time leading scorer at Barrington, though that might not happen. Engvall is considering his options whether to stay in town or finish his career at a prep school, but said he’s focused on the task at hand and will make a decision about his future down the line.

“Right now I’m at Barrington High School and that’s all I’m thinking about,” Engvall said. “I’m looking forward to the playoffs and that’s all.”

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