Nantucket Current | Sports Roundup: Boys Hoops Rallies To Beat Nauset

This Whaler sports activities roundup consists of an replace on the boys basketball staff after they got here from behind to beat the Nauset Warriors with a dominant fourth quarter, the ladies swim staff following the MIAA sectional meet, and the ladies basketball staff following one other street win that prolonged their win streak to 3 recreation.

The boys basketball staff pulled off an exhilarating 78-65 victory Friday night, but it surely did not materialize with out some adversity and drama. The Whalers fell behind shortly at residence in opposition to their Cape & Island rival – the Nauset Warriors – 15-6 simply three minutes into the sport, prompting a timeout from head coach Willis Ferreira.

“I wasn’t happy because we knew they were going to shoot the three and they shot the three and made threes,” Ferreira mentioned of the early timeout. “That’s what they do. That’s why they’re so good. I didn’t think they could come into our building, having to do the traveling they do to get here, and just make shots, and they did. But they made them because we weren’t guarding anybody. So the timeout was to try to tell them to start guarding people. I got to give all the credit to my players because at halftime, I had nothing. I had no answers. We were getting outplayed in every facet of the game whether it was on the defensive end, the offensive end, rebounding, hustling, they beat us everywhere. I didn’t have an answer. I had nothing for them. I just said, ‘Unless you play harder, we’re going to lose.'”

Nantucket trailed 24-15 after one quarter and 37-29 at halftime. Their play slowly started to enhance however everytime the Whalers would lower the deficit to 1 or two scores, Nauset would seemingly discover a solution to hit a key basket to place any Whaler comeback on maintain.

In the third quarter, Nantucket rode the new hand of senior level guard Gaven Smith – who completed the sport with 19 factors – together with 9 factors on three three-pointers within the third quarter. Sophomore guard and main scorer Burke Lombardi made a 3 within the last seconds of the third quarter to attract the Whalers inside one level – trailing 51-50 getting into the fourth and last quarter.

Lombardi completed the sport with 23 factors however was equally as efficient and dominant on the defensive finish of the court docket – compiling one among, if not the most effective two-way efficiency of his younger varsity basketball profession in a recreation his staff desperately wanted to win. Lombardi scored 12 factors within the fourth quarter and was an ideal six for six from the free throw line (eight for eight within the recreation).

“Burke was awesome and then he made foul shots when he needed to,” Ferreira mentioned. “It is just good to have a guy like that who knows how to play in those moments and to finish in those moments. It isn’t always easy making those foul shots under that kind of pressure.”

The Whalers outscored Nauset 28-14 within the fourth, and did so regardless of one among their finest offensive gamers – Vallon Jeanty, selecting up a fourth foul with two and a half minutes left within the third quarter. Vallon didn’t verify in till halfway by means of the fourth quarter, largely as a result of he instructed Ferreira he didn’t wish to disrupt the rhythm his teammates have been in.

“With about four minutes left in the fourth I was trying to get him back in the game, but he said, ‘They’re playing good without me. Just leave those guys in there,’” Ferreira mentioned. “You love hearing that, especially from him because he’s a stat guy. He wants to score and be kind of the focal point a lot of the times, which that’s okay because he’s a good player. But I thought him doing that was really cool. He cared about winning. That’s important. It’s not always about me. Sometimes on this team, it’s about me. What did I get? What did I do? How many shots did I make.”

Nantucket is now 9-5 and have a busy last 10 days of normal season play after two video games have been cancelled over the weekend on account of climate. The Whalers can be again in motion on Tuesday, February 10^th once they host Bourne High School at 5 p.m.

The women swim staff competed within the MIAA Sectional Meet on Friday and positioned sixth total. While the official occasions weren’t instantly obtainable, a number of the placements have been obtainable with out the occasions – which we’ll embody in our Wednesday sports activities roundup alongside the boys swim staff outcomes from their sectional meet, which befell on Sunday.