By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
Wixon came to the island Tuesday afternoon and defeated both the girls and boys Cyrus Peirce School teams in close games. The boys lost 34-31 and the girls fell 46-42.
Also this week, the Nantucket boys earned their first win of the season at Nauset 38-27 and the girls team also won at Nauset 47-29 last Thursday.
Both CPS squads will be in action on Friday at home against Barnstable and then will travel to the Red Raiders for a rematch on Tuesday.
Boys basketball
Against Wixon on Tuesday, the Whalers dropped their second game this season to the competitive opponent, both by three points.
“We always play Wixon close. It is always a close game. Today our shots just weren’t falling,” head coach Jeremiah Splaine said. “We are improving every time we go out and play. We are getting valuable experience and learning in the game.”
The Whalers were 16-for-26 from the free-throw line, capitalizing on opportunities inside to stay in the game. But Wixon was strong under the hoop, dominating the boards, and led 14-13 at the break.
In the third quarter, Wixon opened up a slim lead as Nantucket could not get their shots to fall. Cody Sullivan drained back-to-back three-point shots for Wixon to close out the quarter up 27-21.
Nantucket would never recover. The Whalers had the ball with time left on the clock, but could not get off a three-point shot to tie the game.
Murphy Crowell had a strong game in the low post with a game-high 11 points and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. Terrell Correa also had a good game inside with eight points and Leo Atkinson was a spark off the bench on defense and rebounding.
The Whalers got their first win of the season last Thursday over Nauset.
“We really started to play well as a team during the second half of the Wixon game (two weeks ago). (Thursday), we put together our first really good game,” Splaine said.
Nantucket came out with pressure defense and a hot hand on offense and led 20-14 after the first period and 29-15 at the break. The Whalers defense held the Warriors to only two points in the third period, but managed to score only three points on offense.
“It was a solid team effort. We got good contributions from everyone,” Splaine said. “We’re improving every day. It’s nice to see all of our hard work paying off.”
Andrew Benson led Nantucket with 15 points, including a perfect three-for-three from behind the arc. Correa was strong inside with six points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocked shots, while Grady Murtagh was solid on defense with four steals and four points.
Crowell contributed five rebounds and three points, while Zac Gurley scored six on two three-pointers. Corey Woolfolk scored four points off the bench.
Girls basketball
“They played well up until the fourth quarter. Two of my starters fouled out and that was the difference in the game,” head coach Hoby McNerney said.
Without leading scorers Jess Halford (16 points) and Alicia Paterson (11 points), the Whalers struggled down the stretch to hold off Wixon.
“It was close the whole way, back and forth. We hit a three, they hit a three. We hit a two, they hit a two,” McNerney said. “They had a couple of tall girls that dominated on the boards and we failed in the rebound department and that was one of the main reasons we lost.”
The game was tied 18-18 at the half. Ashley Symer scored nine points for the Whalers in the loss.
The CPS girls picked up another win last Thursday with a victory over Nauset. Halford and Paterson led Nantucket with a game-high 16 points each. Halford added three blocked shots and three steals, while Paterson had two blocks and two steals in the win.
“We were consistent the whole time. We didn’t have to press on them, we just played our normal style of basketball and just out-matched them,” McNerney said.
For Nauset Amber Smith scored 10 points and Katie Whelan added six.
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