By Allison Goldsmith
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Nantucket defenders (from left) Tomas Smaliorius, Josh Butler and Kevin Stanton swarm around West Bridgewater’s Matt Harris in the paint yesterday during the Whalers’ 57-42 win. Nantucket used its size advantage in the second half to outlast the Wildcats.
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I&M Sports Editor
The boys basketball team picked up another win over a playoff-bound opponent with a 57-42 home victory over West Bridgewater yesterday afternoon. After trailing for a majority of the first half, the Whalers broke out in the second half to swipe their second win of the season from the Wildcats.
Nantucket improved to 9-2 overall this season. Up next for the Whalers is a return to the Lighthouse Conference schedule. Provincetown will visit the island on Saturday for a 1:45 p.m. start before Nantucket travels to Cape Cod Academy on Tuesday.
Against West Bridgewater (8-4) on Wednesday, the Whalers came up against an opponent looking for revenge for an early season loss.
“They came out and they were very hungry, more hungry than we were. We got out-rebounded in the first half and we never get out-rebounded. We had to match their intensity,” head coach Beau Almodobar said.
Nantucket used its size advantage to block a number of shots early, but the Wildcats were given multiple chances off offensive rebounds and Whalers fouls. West Bridgewater went up by as many as nine points with seven minutes remaining in the half.
“Our game plan was to go hard to the basket and we did that, but they boxed the hell out of us,” Almodobar said. “We knew we were in for a battle. We stuck with it and kept playing hard. The bench was key today.”
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Andriquez Farmer puts up a jump shot against West Bridgewater yesterday afternoon. Farmer led the Whalers to victory with 18 points. |
Josh Butler and Jordan Ferreira put up four points apiece over the next three minutes to keep the Whalers close. With a minute and half remaining, Ferreira sent a behind-the-back pass to Evan Hourihan on a fast break to pull the Whalers within one at 23-22. Tomas Smaliorius grabbed an offensive board and made the put-back as the buzzer sounded to give the Whalers the 24-23 lead and the momentum going into the break.
“We really stuck together as a team, even when we were down. When we feel a break, we make the most of it,” Almodobar said.
In the second half, the Wildcats’ intensity turned to frustration as they committed a number of fouls early and put the Whalers into the bonus less than six minutes in. West Bridgewater
starter Matt Harris, who was one of the leading scorers in the first game between the two schools, fouled out with nine minutes remaining.
Ferreira hit two three-pointers and Andriquez Farmer hit one as the Whalers opened up their lead to 40-28. The rebounding also picked up in the second half.
“That really ignited us. If we can stay in ballgames we will find a way to win. We got a lot of fast-break points in the second half. You could see they were tired,” Almodobar said.
All nine Whalers put points on the board in the win. Farmer led the way with 18 points, while Ferreira contributed a healthy 17-point game along with six assists. Butler scored nine points, with 11 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
The Whalers were 17-for-32 from the free-throw line, while West Bridgewater didn’t fare well either with a 14-for-33 mark at the stripe.
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Reach Allison Goldsmith at sports@inkym.com |
