Sports Roundup: Boys Hoops Dominate At Home
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes updates on the boys basketball team following a home matchup against the Nauset Warriors, the boys hockey team following a road matchup against Dennis-Yarmouth, and the girls basketball team.
Boys Hoops Dominates Home Matchup Against Nauset
The boys basketball team hosted the Nauset Warriors Tuesday evening hoping to get some revenge on Nauset after the Warriors won the first matchup 62-49. The Whalers accomplished their goal and won 88-41 behind a 26-point performance by junior big man Ethan Jarrett, 14 points by junior Vallon Jeanty, and 13 points by junior Gaven Smith.
“The confidence of these guys is getting higher and higher," Whaler head coach Willis Ferreira said. "You got guys like Burke (Lombardi), and you got Vallon. Gaven came in and gave us a lift. I thought (Donte) Brimm was good again. The key to all this stuff, for me, is (junior guard Jake) Grant. Grant makes things happen. He's just one of those long pass guys that sees the floor and he is able to get Vallon and Burke some wide-open threes, and then he sees the post guy when they start spreading out on those two and start getting it into E (Ethan Jarrett) and Brimm. When you can get four guys going, it's a lot harder to defend than one or two.”
Through the game’s first three minutes, the Whalers couldn’t buy a basket and were unable to score their first points until a Jeanty three-pointer with 4:21 to go in the first off an assist from Lombardi, who finished with 11 points.
Nauset didn’t have much luck offensively either early on and tallied just five points through the games first five minutes — allowing Nantucket to take an early 7-5 lead with 3:30 to go in the first. The Whaler’s offense began to heat up in the final minutes and Nantucket took an 18-14 lead into the second quarter.
"We just didn't come out with any energy," Ferreira said. "Sometimes we are just flat. I really don't know. It took me yelling to Ethan and yelling at a couple other guys Like, 'We got to freaking run. We are jogging around out there. We're not good enough to jog around. We got to sprint everywhere, and we got to defend like crazy. I think once we settled down again, and again I thought Grant made some passes and those guys knocked down some shots to really get that lead.
The Warriors scored two quick baskets to end the first quarter, including one as time expired, and hoped to take that momentum into the second, but were unable to do so. Jeanty drilled a three on the first possession of the second, and from there the Whalers forced Nauset to call a timeout with 5:48 to go in the first half after taking a 25-14 lead.
The Whalers were able to build on their double-digit lead thanks to back-to-back threes by Smith - giving Nantucket a 35-19 lead and prompting a Nauset timeout with 3:19 to go in the half. Both teams struggled to score in the final three minutes, and the Whalers took a 39-24 lead into halftime.
The Whalers entered the second half hoping to get the ball in Lombardi’s hands more often after he had just three shots in the first half. Lombardi began the half with a three-point make and then a nice feed down low to Jarrett to help Nantucket begin the third quarter on a 14-0 run. They led 53-24 midway through the third and 60-31 entering the final quarter.
“When we talked about it at halftime, we couldn't let 15 (points) get to 10. 15 had to go to 20. We got it to 40 at one point,” Ferreira said. “I mean, that's a good response from those guys. We get better every day. I told you guys right in the beginning it wasn't going to be easy early, and it wasn't and it's still not. But you can see the pieces starting to come together. I don't know if it'll equate to anything, but I know that the kids are confident and they like playing with each other, and I think that's half the battle is just watching kids grow up in front of your eyes.”
The Whalers used the final quarter to rotate through their bench and get every player some minutes. They went on to win the game 88-41 to improve to 4-8 this season. You can view more photos from this game by clicking here.
They will play the Monomoy Sharks tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. on the road.
Boys Hockey Drops Road Matchup To DY
The Whaler boys hockey team has been playing more competitive hockey of late, however they are still searching for their first win of the year as we enter the final weeks of the season.
Nantucket went on the road to play the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins, who are 6-8 this season and currently the #22 seed in the Div. 4 state tournament bracket. Nantucket lost 6-3 but had three different goal scorers in junior forward Ben Freeman, sophomore forward Paxton Fitch, and freshman forward Justin Torres.
The Whalers are now 0-10 this season, but up next they will finally have a home game after playing seven of their first 10 games on the road. They will host the St. John Paul II Lions on Wednesday, February 5th at 5:15 p.m. The Lions are currently 8-8 this year and beat Nantucket 7-4 in their first meeting on Jan. 15th.
SJP is currently the #26 seed in the Div. 4 state tournament bracket.
Girls Basketball Loses Road Matchup
The Nantucket girls basketball team took their 6-3 record on the road Tuesday evening to play the Monomoy Sharks but were unable to come home with a victory and lost 50-27. The Whaler’s leading scorer in the game was senior captain Maddie Lombardi, who finished with 14 points.
Nantucket will try to improve to 7-4 when they host the Monomoy Sharks on Thursday, February 6th at 5 p.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Wednesday, February 5th:
The boys hockey team will be at home facing the St. John Paul II Lions at 5:15 p.m.
The boys basketball team will be on the road facing the Monomoy Sharks at 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 6th:
The girls basketball team will be at home facing Monomoy at 5 p.m.
For more coverage of all the Nantucket High School winter sports teams, follow our sports Instagram page here.
For more photos taken by Chris Tran, follow his Instagram page here.
To view the MIAA Power Rankings, click here.