By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
I&M Staff Writer
The boys varsity basketball team bounced back from a disappointing season-opening loss to post victories in its next two games. The Whalers beat Blue Hills 73-59 Friday and South Shore Vocational on Saturday 71-39.
 |
Photos by Jim Powers
Chris Welch dribbles to the basket against South Shore Voke Saturday in the 71-39 win. |
Nantucket (2-1) had trouble shooting from the perimeter against Blue Hills early, but was able to put points on the board with good rebounding on defense that led to easy fast-break lay-ups.
Head coach Beau Almodobar changed things up early after Nantucket fell behind, substituting Delroy Lawrence and Josh Butler for starters Eric Lowell and Adam Spencer to give the Whalers more size and speed on both ends of the court.
“They give us some depth off the bench,” Almodobar said. “A lot of players put too much into starting games. It’s not about starting, it’s about filling a role and helping the team.”
Lawrence provided immediate dividends by grabbing rebound after rebound, allowing Nantucket to bring the ball up the court at its own pace and work on set plays that confused an undersized Blue Hills team.
Lawrence’s defense was tempered a bit after he picked up two quick fouls, but he stayed in the game and added a couple of free throws of his own to finish the game with 10 points.
Butler also added 10 points, but his contributions didn’t necessarily show up on the score sheet. In the second quarter, he took a charge and hit an outside jump shot as part of an 8-0 run that evened the score and energized both the team and the home crowd.
With Lawrence and Butler establishing themselves on both ends under the glass and in the paint, Jordan Ferreira was free to run and pile up fast-break points. He finished with a game-high 22, including four three-point shots.
Nantucket was up by only three points after the first half, but a quick three-pointer by Lowell, followed by a steal by Evan Hourihan who then sank his own three, put the Whalers up 35-27.
Blue Hills climbed back to make it a 35-31 game before Almodobar called a time-out, but it did little good as the game was then tied up with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Nantucket’s players seemed to realize they needed to step up and play better, and led by Lowell, they hit a couple of tough outside shots and went on a 5-0 run, adding 10 more points as the quarter came to a close to lead 52-41.
 |
Photo by Jim Powers
More basketball action from the Whaler's win against South Shore Vocational last Saturday.
|
The fourth quarter was all Nantucket as it pulled away for the victory.
In the second game against South Shore Vocational, Nantucket once again came out firing from beyond the three-point line and once again the shots were not falling.
Nantucket went scoreless on its first four possessions and looked sluggish before Almodobar called a time-out to settle his team down.
“That’s something we have tried to work on since the first game,” said Almodobar, referring to the first half against Mashpee where the Whalers went down big early and could not come back despite outscoring their opponents in the second half. “It was a lesson learned and now we just have to try and not repeat it.”
Nantucket came out of the time-out and scored a couple easy baskets and pressured South Shore with a full-court press, substituting players often to wear out the opposing team and keep fresh legs on the court.
“If we throw our press at them and have our guys flying around and keep subbing them, we can keep our guys fresh and get them fatigued,” said Almodobar.
The plan worked as Nantucket increased its lead from 6-2 with four minutes left in the first quarter to 16-5 at the end of the quarter.
Once again, Nantucket was able to use its larger size in the front three positions to its advantage while still letting its guards run free. Both Lawrence and Butler again turned in stellar defensive games and Ferreira again led all scorers with 12 points.
“I like the way everybody contributed,” said Almodobar. “We had a number of guys in double figures and we controlled the boards. It was a good game for us.”
In the second quarter Ferreira hit two three-point shots and Nantucket easily picked off a number of passes that translated into easy points. By halftime the contest was over with the Whalers up 41-16.
The second half was more of the same and the three-point shots continued to fall as Nantucket eventually pulled away for a 71-39 thrashing of South Shore Voke.
|
