By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Edito
It may have been a consolation game, but the boys basketball team celebrated like champions Monday afternoon after pulling out a last-second victory over Easthampton at the Martha’s Vineyard Island Invitational.
After falling to Pembroke 80-60 in the opening-round game Sunday afternoon, the Whalers battled back and beat the Eagles 72-71 on a three-point shot by Delroy Lawrence off an in-bound pass with 0.5 seconds on the clock.
“Point-five seconds. What can you do? It is just a catch and throw and that’s what we designed to do,” head coach Beau Almodobar said.
Also this week, Nantucket (11-7) came from behind late in the fourth quarter to defeat Provincetown 52-47 to maintain a perfect Lighthouse Conference record at 6-0 overall.
The Whalers have one game remaining on the schedule, this afternoon at home against Cohasset, before MIAA Division IV South Sectional tournament seedings are announced Friday.
Monday’s last-second victory over Easthampton could go a long way for the Whalers’ playoff hopes.
“It is a huge morale booster. Now they think anything is possible. Even though we are 11-7, we can win any game as long as we are in it right down to the final seconds, we can pull it out,” Almodobar said.
The Whalers had a four-point lead with a minute on the clock and tried to hold the ball to let time wind down. Without converting a basket, Nantucket gave up possession on two straight trips down the floor and the Eagles converted an inside basket and an and-one play to take the lead at 70-69.
“We lost our focus a little bit down the stretch. We didn’t attack. We were too reserved,” Almodobar said.
Nantucket missed two three-point shots and Easthampton converted a free-throw to go up by two and take the momentum with eight seconds on the clock.
Easthampton had fouls to give and pressured the Whalers on the final possession. A foul was called with 0.5 seconds remaining. After a time out, the Whalers set up a triple screen for Lawrence, who came outside the three-point line, took the pass from Carlton Hue and launched up a perfect shot sending the Whalers into a frenzy with the victory.
“It was outstanding,” Almodobar said. “He really showed his true captain leadership this weekend and I am proud of him. It was a hell of a shot.”
Lawrence, who earned all-tournament team honors, led with a team-high 27 points and 16 rebounds. Josh Butler was also strong inside with 16 points and six rebounds. Jamie Viera contributed 11 points in the win. Easthampton’s Pat Ramsey led all scorers with 37 points.
The Whalers opened the Island Invitational with a 20-point loss to Division III Pembroke Sunday night.
“They were just better than we were. They controlled the ball very well, they didn’t commit a lot of turnovers, and they passed the ball well,” Almodobar said. “They are tournament-bound and they play in a great league. We missed some tough shots down the stretch.”
The Titans took the early lead as James Coner found the hot hand from beyond the three-point arc. The senior shooter knocked down six three pointers in the first half as Pembroke took a 39-29 lead into the break.
Lawrence and Butler each had big shots in the paint against Pembroke’s 6’8” center Matt Divine, but the Whalers still trailed by 10.
In the second half, the Whalers put a box-and-one defense on Coner, holding him without a single point in the second half, but Divine stepped up on the inside to keep the Titans well out in front.
Despite offensive success inside, the Whalers shooters looked to the outside game to try to catch-up on the scoreboard. Eric Lowell, Chris Welch and Hue each hit three-point shots as Nantucket tried to fight its way back into striking distance. The Whalers ultimately shot five-for-28 from beyond the arc and were not able to get back in the game.
Conference perfection
In the final Lighthouse Conference game of the season, Provincetown gave the Whalers a scare.
“We came out flat. We missed a lot of put-backs, easy bunny shots early,” Almodobar said.
Nantucket trailed for most of the first half, falling behind 11-6 to start and still losing 24-21 at the break.
The Fishermen led by five points with five minutes remaining on the clock before the Whalers turned up the pressure. Nantucket went on a 10-0 run down the stretch, relying on intense defense to pull out the victory. Butler and Lawrence blocked a couple shots and Lowell and Welch were tough defending on the outside.
“It’s always nice to win your conference and there were some good teams this year. We played some close games against a lot of those schools. It is good to see parity kind of taking effect. We had kind of dominated the last two years and now they are close games,” Almodobar said.
Lawrence led the Whalers with a game-high 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. Butler knocked down 13 points and pulled down eight boards.
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