They hustled, they fought for rebounds and they battled through a
tenacious full court press, but in the end the boys' basketball
team just couldn't match a larger and quicker team from Scituate
Wednesday, falling 73-41 in the second round of the Division 3 south
region state tournament.
Earlier in the week, the Vineyarders overcame a first half deficit
against a talented team from Carver to win their first round playoff
game at home, before going on the road to face the 18-2 Scituate
juggernaut.
The Vineyarders fell behind by 12 points in the first four minutes
on Wednesday and were down by as many as 38 in the second half -
but continued to battle, contesting shots and chasing down loose balls
at every turn.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/20070302_jacob_vanderhoop_sm.jpg" When coach Mike Joyce emptied his bench in the final minutes of the
game, the second and third string players held their own and actually
managed to shave points from the Sailors' lead.
Meanwhile, the boys' hockey team defeated Mansfield 3-1 in
their first round playoff game, and will continue their run tomorrow
against perennial powerhouse and familiar foe Coyle-Cassidy at the Gallo
Arena in Bourne.
The sixth seeded Vineyarders, whose record now stands at 12-4-5,
will be looking to turn the tables against Coyle-Cassidy, the team that
knocked them out of the playoffs last year 10-0.
Boys' Basketball
The 14th seeded Vineyarders defeated 19th seeded Carver by a score
of 67-57 in the opening round playoff game at home Monday, although the
win didn't come easy.
The Knights used an aggressive full court press to force several
turnovers in the first half, helping them to an early 11-7 lead. But the
Vineyarders matched the Knights basket for basket as the half unfolded
- despite some questionable shot selections and missed free throws
- and were able to take a slight 26-23 lead at the half.
The Vineyard boys did a good job of shutting down the prolific
Richie King, the South Shore League's leading scorer, holding him
to only six points in the first half, and 17 overall in the game. Both
teams used a swarming full court press which led to an emotionally
charged and physical contest.
When Vineyard forward Bubba Brown inadvertently elbowed King in the
face early in the second half, Knights coach Roger King rushed onto the
court and demanded that the game be halted. After he conferred with his
star player on the sideline, however, the subdued coach returned to the
sideline and the game resumed.
The Vineyarders exploded to start the second half, as Tim McHugh hit
a runner, Nick Viera drained a long three-pointer and Terrell Johnson
stole a pass and went coast to coast for a layup to give the home team a
33-23 edge.
The scrappy Knights stormed back to within one point with a pair of
three-pointers of their own, but were never able to take the lead. As
the game passed the ten-minute mark in the second half, emotions on both
sides ratcheted up another notch, as players disputed every pass,
contested every shot and scrapped for loose balls.
The Vineyarders finally found the lift they needed when reserve Mike
O'Donoghue - playing for starting guard Nick Viera who
fouled out of the game - came in and hit a three-pointer and a
mid-range jumper to give the home team a ten-point cushion and put the
game away for good.
Terrell Johnson finished with 13 points and Nick Viera had 15
points, including two three-pointers, while Jacob Vanderhoop finished
with 12 points. Carver's King managed to lead all scorers with 17
points.
Later Coach Joyce said his team played well in the face of an
aggressive and physical defense.
"You could tell [Carver] really wanted that game, and in the
end it came down to a battle of wills," he said.
It came down to a battle of wills again Wednesday when the
Vineyarders faced heavily favored Scituate in the second round.
But it was clear from the start all that the hustle in the world
wasn't going to even the score against the talented Sailors, who
held a clear size advantage in the middle with six-foot eight-inch
Blaine O'Brien and six-foot seven-inch Sean McCarthy.
The Vineyarders tried their aggressive full court press and quick
guard play that had served them so well against Carver, but in the end
the strategy played right into the hands of the Scituate team.
The Sailors repeatedly lobbed passes over Vineyard defenders,
finding either O'Brien or McCarthy alone in the paint. To make
matters worse, their tandem of talented guards - Mike Steele and
Alex Hernan - were able to pick off passes in the back court.
After the Sailors roared out to a 22-8 lead in the opening minutes,
Coach Joyce called his second time out of the game to calm his players
down. He substituted little-used reserve Nico Cuba, who gave the
Vineyarders a lift with a three-pointer and a jump shot from the wing.
But the boost was short lived.
With eight minutes left in the first half, the Sailors' Alex
Danowski stole the ball and passed to Dante Cohen for a coast-to-coast
layup, building the lead past the 20-point mark.
The Vineyarders cut the lead to 39-25 by the half, but the Sailors
ran away with the game early in the second half on a string of
fast-break baskets.
The rim was unkind to the Vineyarders; several shots danced on the
cylinder before falling out. The shooting woes were compounded by
several players having bad nights at the foul line.
The usually steady Viera - who seems to score 15 points every
game - was shut down almost entirely by Cohen, while Steele stuck
to Terrell Johnson like a glove. With the Sailors up by over 30 with
seven minutes to play, Scituate coach Matt Poirer began to pull his
starters. Coach Joyce did the same just minutes later.
Viera, Jawan Johnson and Terrell Johnson finished the game with six
points apiece.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/20070302_hockey_seniors_sm.jpg"Boys' Hockey
You might think the hockey team's convincing 3-1 win over
Mansfield in the opening round of the Division 2 south region tournament
would put a smile of the face of coach Matt Mincone, but think again.
The longtime coach said his team played well in the win, but could
have played better.
"I don't want to take anything away from them, because
it was a good win. But I don't think we played our best game. I
think the players looked at the game like we were supposed to win
because we were a 6th seed and they were an 11th seed, and they
didn't really have that killer instinct the whole game," he
said.
Third-line mates Mitch Pachico and Sam Hurd scored 15 seconds apart
in the first period to give the Vineyard an early 2-0 lead, and Steve
Greenburg scored in the third period to round out the game.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/20070302_tad_gold_sm.jpg" The Vineyarders controlled the tempo of the game from the start,
outshooting Mansfield 26-13, but went scoreless in the second period
despite taking 11 shots on goal. The Hornets' Eddie O'Brien
slipped the puck past Vineyard goalie Alex Minehann midway through the
third period.
Coach Mincone said his team played it best hockey after a 5-0 win
last month against a talented team from Lynnfield. He had hoped the team
would maintain that level of play but feels his players may have
reverted back to early season form.
"I hope the team realizes just how talented they are. They are
capable of beating anyone on any day, but there've been
inconsistencies from game to game," he said.
The Vineyarders face off against third-seed Coyle-Cassidy tomorrow.
"It's the match-up I had hoped for, and a lot of the players
had hoped for after what happened last year. This is the team we were
hoping to get," Coach Mincone said, adding cautiously:
"But I hope it's not a case of ‘be careful what
you wish for.' "
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