By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The boys varsity basketball team’s postseason run came to an end Saturday when the Whalers fell to a high-powered Avon team 85-76 in the quarterfinal round of the Div. IV South Sectional playoffs.
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Delroy Lawrence goes in for the basket against Avon’s Mark Chapelle in the first half of Saturday’s quarterfinal round game against the Panthers. Nantucket lost 85-76, but it was the first time in history the boys basketball squad made back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals. |
“It was a close game, but they were always just out of reach. They are so quick. Every time we scored a basket it just seemed they were right down there scoring,” head coach Beau Almodobar said of the third-seeded Panthers.
Nantucket defeated South Shore Voke 65-47 in the first round of the tournament at home last Thursday.
The Whalers wrapped up the season at 15-7 overall.
It was the first time in Nantucket boys basketball history that teams have advanced to the quarterfinal-round of the tournament in back-to-back seasons. Last year the Whalers lost to Westport at home.
“I thought it was a good run. It was a fun group to coach and an enjoyable team to coach and I am very proud of them, not only for what they accomplished, but also what they did for the program,” Almodobar said.
The Whalers will lose six seniors to graduation this spring: Mike Aucoin, Jordan Ferreira, Evan Hourihan, Tomas Smaliorius, Adam Spencer and Carl Stevens.
“I can’t say enough about them. They have really meant a lot to the program and made the program what it is today. They have worked hard all season long,” Almodobar said.
In the quarterfinal round of the tournament Saturday, the Whalers were matched up against one of the most high-powered offensive teams in Div. IV.
“They are a really good team and we lost to a better team that day. They have the leading scorer in the state (Akeem Williams) with 32.5 points per game and the third-leading scorer in the state (Deric McCottrell, 27.1 PPG),” Almodobar said. “We tried to know where they were every time down the floor and tried to slow them down a little, but it didn’t work.”
While the Panthers offense was hitting a groove in the first quarter, the Whalers were able to get the ball inside to Josh Butler and Delroy Lawrence to stay with Avon early. Hourihan nailed a three-pointer at the end of the quarter to pull Nantucket within six at 26-20.
In the second quarter, the Whalers picked up the defense and were able to slow down the quick Avon attack. In turn, the Nantucket offense responded. Jordan Ferreira hit a three-point shot to give the Whalers the lead at 31-30. Adam Spencer hit two inside buckets in the final minute of the half as Nantucket went into the break with a 43-39 lead.
“We were just hitting our shots. We were hitting our shots down low and working the ball until we got a good shot,” Almodobar said.
The Whalers held Williams to only seven points in the first half, while McCottrell picked up the slack on the inside with 16. Williams would not be silenced for long, however, as the junior leading scorer exploded for 22 points in the second half.
After the break, Avon quickly regained the lead with seven straight points. The Whalers could not get back into the offensive groove as the Panthers opened an 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter at 65-54.
Nantucket suffered a blow when Lawrence fouled out early in the third quarter. Butler made a statement with a dunk and Ferreira added fast-break points seconds later as the Whalers pulled within seven at 67-60 in the fourth quarter. Nantucket stayed within 10 points the rest of the way, but could not get any closer as time wound off the clock.
Butler finished with a team-high 21 points and Lawrence had 20. Ferreira added 19 points in his final game, giving him 1,173 for his high school career. Smaliorius scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds. Aucoin had nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
For Avon, Williams finished with 29 points and McCottrell added a game-high 32. Eighth-grade starter Saleek Marshall scored 16 points, including three three-pointers.
First-round win
The Whalers matched up against South Shore Voke for the third time this season on Thursday night. Nantucket had won both previous games over the Vikings and proved to be dominant again in the playoffs.
“I thought the difference in the game was the play of Nantucket’s big guys, Delroy Lawrence and Josh Butler. They just took charge of the first half. We made a few adjustments in the second and seemed to slow them down a bit, but I just can’t match up with his size,” South Shore Voke head coach Ed Schneider said. “We shot 3-for-29 in the first half. You can’t do that and expect to win games. We made a nice little run on them late, but couldn’t make our foul shots to close the gap.”
The Whalers opened with stifling defense and a half-court press to take a 20-5 lead after the first quarter.
“One of the things we like to do is put in our half-court press to try to confuse teams. We will press so they can’t do what they want to do. It is a good way for us to start the game and set the tone,” Almodobar said.
Lawrence scored 10 points in the first frame and Butler added four points including a dunk before the Vikings knew what hit them.
“They have really developed into good post players. Not only their height but boxing out and rebounding and not giving second and third chances on the rebounding,” Almodobar said.
The Whalers defense held South Shore’s leading scoring threat Jayson Sullivan to only three points in the first half.
“We just tried to always keep an eye on him where he was the whole time, be aware wherever he was on the court and close in on him quickly or he will take that quick jumper,” Almodobar said.
Nantucket held a commanding 33-17 lead at halftime.
The Whalers did not let up out of the break and instead put up the first 17 points of the second half. Lawrence scored six straight, Ferreira dropped nine and Butler added two as Nantucket bolted to the 50-17 lead.
The Vikings finally got some offense going as Sullivan drained back-to-back three-point shots, but it would not be enough. South Shore cut the lead to 15 with four minutes remaining, but that would be as close as they would come.
Lawrence finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists. Ferreira scored 17 points and Butler added 12. Sullivan scored a team-high 19 points for South Shore.
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