By Dean Geddes
I&M Staff Writer
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Nantucket Senior Wesle La Motta takes the ball to the hole in the second half of the Whalers’ 59-53 first-round tournament loss to the Mashpee Falcons last Thursday.
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A see-saw battle in the first round of the Division IV South state tournament Thursday between the 12th-seeded Nantucket Whalers and the fifth-seeded Mashpee Falcons saw eight second-half lead changes before the hometown Falcons pulled away in the final minutes for the 59-53 win.
“This was one of the most enjoyable seasons I have had,” Whaler head coach Beau Almodobar said of his team that rebounded from a 1-4 start to finish the season with a 12-9 record.
“Seeing this team improve and play their best at the end of the season, as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.
“I have to thank my assistant coaches, Tom (Ferreira), Michael (Ferreira) and Jamie (Holdgate). We couldn’t have had the success we had this season without their hard work and dedication.”
Mashpee finished the season 16-6 after falling 64-47 to Cathedral in the second round of the playoffs.
The Whalers fell behind 9-0 at the start of the game Thursday and trailed for nearly the entire first half, but Wesley LaMotta and Jordan Ferreira teamed up to lead Nantucket on a 14-3 run to tie the game at the break. The two Whalers carried the offense, combining for 26 of the team’s 28 first-half points as Nantucket played tight team defense to hold the Falcons without a field goal in the final 5:45 of the half.
After LaMotta knocked in a pair of free throws, Ferreira came back down the court and buried a three-pointer to cut the Falcon lead to six, 25-19, with four minutes to go in the half.
A minute later LaMotta drove into the paint and scored a tough layup between three Mashpee players. He then sank a pull-up three-pointer on Nantucket’s next possession to bring the Whalers within one, 25-24.
Mashpee’s Evan Lopes finally ended his team’s three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought, making one of two free throws.
Back on offense, Caio Correa drove to the basket, sucking the defense into the paint, then kicked the ball out to a wide-open Ferreira, who dropped in a short jumper to tie the game at 26 with a 1:51 left in the half.
Each team then made a pair of free throws and headed to the locker room with the score deadlocked at 28.
LaMotta’s pull-up jumper at the start of the second half gave the Whalers their first lead of the game, 30-28.
Matt Skaine quickly re-tied the game after getting fouled in the low post and making both his free throws.
On the Falcons’ next possession, they went right back to Skaine, who had been having his way in the paint up to this point. But this time junior Kevin Stanton was there to block his shot and send it to LaMotta, who immediately pushed the ball up the court and found Delroy Lawrence cutting to the basket for the quick fast-break layup that put the Whalers up by two.
“That was a halftime adjustment we made to try and contain (Skaine. We had our guard or forward from the opposite side of the court come into the paint to help out,” Almodobar said.
Skaine had 14 points in the first half, but only seven points after halftime.
Mashpee retook the lead a minute later when David Landry connected on a three-pointer, but Nantucket’s Evan Hourihan answered right back on the Whalers’ next possession, swishing a three-pointer to put his team back up 35-33.
A minute and half later, Masphee went back up by one when Jeff Kelleher got out on the fast break, scored a layup, got fouled, and made the ensuing free throw. Nantucket went ahead 37-36 seconds later as LaMotta got fouled driving to the basket and made both his free throws. After a defensive stop, Ferreira sank a three-pointer to give the Whalers a 40-36 lead, their largest of the game.
But the Falcons then rattled off six straight points, on a three-pointer by Joey Lopes and then a low-post layup by Skaine, who got fouled and made his free throw to convert the three-point play.
The Whalers struck back with an inbounds pass under the Falcons basket to Jordan Ferreira who was camped out behind the three-point line and buried another trey to put the Whalers back up by one.
After Mashpee failed to score, Lawrence snagged an offensive rebound and put it back up as the Whalers took a 45-42 lead with seven minutes left in the game.
But Kelleher buried a pair of three-pointers in the next two minutes and put the Falcons ahead for good, 48-45.
“That changed the whole momentum. (Mashpee) smelled blood and felt they had a chance. But those are the breaks and bounces you get,” Almodobar said.
Mashpee continued to build on its lead, as Matt Riley grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, then Kelleher banked a three-pointer off the glass to put the Falcons up 53-45 with 2:40 left in the game.
LaMotta brought Nantucket to within five, 57-52, when he picked off Landry’s dribble and took it in for the uncontested layup with 1:20 left. Landry was intentionally fouled bringing the ball up the court and made both his free throws. Then Stanton got fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and made one of his free throws to make it a 59-53 game with a minute to go.
Neither team could score in the final minute as the Falcons escaped with the six-point victory that ended the Whalers’ season.
LaMotta led the Whalers with 24 points and Ferreira had 18.
Reach Dean Geddes at sports@inkym.com
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