Sports Roundup: Boys Hoops Advances To Round Of 32
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the boys basketball team after winning a state tournament game at home, the girls basketball following a road loss, and the boys hockey team, who went on the road shorthanded and lost to one Division 4's top teams.
Bramwell's 20 Points Lead Nantucket To Tournament Win
The #29 seeded Nantucket boys basketball team is moving on to the Round of 32 following a 71-53 victory at home Thursday evening over #36 Oakmont Regional High School in the MIAA Division 3 State Tournament’s Preliminary Round.
Whaler head coach Willis Ferreira said he was proud of his players and their ability to score 71 points on a stingy Oakmont team.
"I knew coming in defensively they were going to be a problem for us," Ferreira said. "Refs let them play a little bit. They were holding, grabbing, pushing, shoving. We didn't like it, but once we settled in and realized we weren't going to get the calls, we had to fight back and toughen up, and I thought we responded in a positive way.”
Nantucket was able to shake off some offensive struggles, rust, and foul trouble early on. They trailed Oakmont 19-12 after one quarter, but Nantucket’s sophomore guard Burke Lombardi carried his team offensively in the first half – scoring 16 of his 20 points – to help the Whalers take a 34-31 lead into halftime.
The star of the game was senior Amare Bramwell - who scored 20 points in the game including 19 points in the second half. Ferreira lauded Bramwell's unselfishness that he has shown throughout his varsity career as the program's point guard - routinely sacrificing personal statistics and accolades to ensure the offense runs well and the ball is going into the right player's hands on each possession.
“Amare took advantage and really played great for us," Ferreira said. "We needed him down the stretch, and he delivered. We needed somebody to step up for us offensively. They did a really good job of trying to take Burke away. We didn’t get much from Vallon (Jeanty) or Gav (Smith) tonight offensively. Vallon got into foul trouble. Ryder (Tartamella) scored those first couple hoops of the game for us but then he got into foul trouble, so we really needed somebody to step up. Some things opened up for Amare, and he had a smaller guy trying to guard him and he took advantage.”
Junior big man Ben Slosek scored 11 points and was once again a dependable presence in the paint.
“Ben was huge in a lot of different spots whether it was on the glass, needing a big hoop when we needed one, blocking shots,” Ferreira said.
Nantucket will now be traveling to play Swampscott High School, who is the four seed in the tournament. That game will be Saturday, February 28th at 1 p.m. in Swampscott. Ferreira said Swampscott has an excellent offensive team and they will present a tough challenge, but is also optimistic his kids can match up well with them.
"I think we match up pretty good with Swampscott. They're smaller. They're not real big. They got a lot of really good guards. They like to shoot it. They can score," Ferreira said. "I don't think it will be the defensive battle. I think we'll be able to get shots. It's just a matter of can we make shots? Can we hang around? Can we find a way? And again, we got to go on the road, which we haven't been good on the road. So hopefully we can match the energy and just go in there and just fight.”
You can view more photos from this game here.
Girls Hoops Season Comes To An End
The girls basketball team’s season came to an end on Thursday following a 49-26 loss on the road to O’Bryant High School.
Whaler head coach Angela Paterson said she thought the score wasn’t indicative of how her team played, they just weren’t able to manufacture enough offense. The second quarter turned out to be the difference maker as O’Bryant outscored the Whalers 20-1. Nantucket only scored seven points in the first half.
Sophomore guard Grace Schroeder led the team with nine points on three three-pointers. Paterson said juniors Quinn Canty and Madden Myers, as well as senior captain Marin Mooney played very hard defensively. Freshman guard Ruby Steadman controlled the court the best she could, Paterson added.
“I’m proud of the team and how the season went,” Paterson said. “They played hard all season and never gave up.”
Nantucket should be able to carry momentum from this season into next winter. They will be returning most of their players, with just two seniors graduating. They won six of their final seven regular season games to make the state tournament – including wins in the final three games of their regular season against teams that had beaten them earlier in the year.
Shorthanded Boys Hockey Loses To Littleton
The 31st seeded boys hockey team went on the road to play #2 Littleton in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament on Thursday and lost 10-0.
The Whalers were shorthanded in this game after several senior players left the team on their own following their regular season finale on February 19th to go on a joint vacation with friends and family during the island’s school vacation week rather than finish the season out alongside their teammates in the state tournament.
The program named seniors Andrew Lavin and Ben Freeman, as well as junior Paxton Fitch as the team's captains for Thursday's tilt with Littleton. The seniors who remained on the team through the end of the year were Andrew Lavin, Ben Freeman, and Baer O'Banion.
Moran said prior to the season that this would be his final year as head coach of the program. On Thursday, he said it “could be” his last before saying that the kids he has had the privilege of coaching have been special to him.
“These 10 seasons (through two coaching stints) are the most memorable times of my life here over the last 42 years I’ve been here (on island),” Moran said. “These kids have been special to me and the various coaches I’ve had with me. Of course, the 22-23 and 23-24 seasons were something special and I will always hold those very close. A few records were created by these kids along the way, and I hope the trip to the final four (three years ago) will eventually be broken and (the program) will secure a state title for the island in the sport of varsity boys hockey.”