As the weary Vineyard boys basketball team boarded a ferry that had waited half an hour to carry them home on Tuesday night, they looked up to see that the raucous cheering did not end at the doors of the Sandwich gymnasium where they had just suffered an 88-85 point loss to Cardinal Spellman.

After two weeks of tryouts and preseason practices, the spring sports season is underway at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. Boys’ lacrosse, track, and the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams all had their first games and matches this week (scores were unavailable at press time), with baseball, softball, girls’ lacrosse and sailing kicking off over the weekend and into April.

Though the weather has been slow to warm, spring sports are heating up at the regional high school. The boys’ lacrosse team took a 16-3 loss to Weston, last year’s number eight MIAA seed, in their first home game of the season. Playing tough nonleague opponents, however, is a crucial part of the lacrosse program, said head coach Chris Greene.

Stormy, soggy weather forced the cancellation of several of this week’s games, but the Vineyarders made the most of their limited time on the fields and courts. Most teams have next week off for spring break, although baseball will take to the road for three games and boys’ lacrosse plays Monday and Wednesday at home.

What to have for lunch — grilled hamburgers or cafeteria food? It was an easy choice for the culinary arts students at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School on Tuesday late morning before they started prep work for a dinner function that night. Ethan Himmel flipped burgers in the kitchen while Carlos Guzman toasted bread in the convection oven and got out cheese.

The Vineyard boys’ basketball team wrapped up the Eastern Athletic Conference (EAC) title in Attleboro on Thursday with a 55-53 squeaker over Bishop Feehan. Randall Jette led all Vineyard scorers with 22 points, with Del Araujo and T.J. VanGervan pitching in 13 and 11 respectively.

The win comes on the heels of another conference win last Friday night over Bishop Stang, 75-63. The Vineyard is 12-2 for the year and a league best 7-0 against EAC opponents.

If coach Michael Joyce’s varsity boys’ basketball team hopes to make any noise in the state tournament in the coming weeks it will likely come down to which team shows up: The one that went into halftime against Norton on Wednesday with their tails between their legs down 38-19, or the second half team whose stifling press and relentless intensity on offense earned them a thrilling 70-61 victory in their last game of the regular season.

It must have been some half-time speech.

Two Vineyard teams, boys’ tennis and girls’ lacrosse, clinched Eastern Athletic Conference titles this week. Both are undefeated in league play this season, and boys’ tennis has not lost at all.

Softball plays three home games this week, taking on Advanced Math and Science Charter School in a double header tomorrow (play begins at 11:30 a.m.), Randolph on Monday at 3:15 p.m., and Chatham on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.

Baseball and boys’ lacrosse advanced to the postseason this week, joining both tennis teams and girls’ lacrosse in the state tournament. Softball remains in the hunt for a tournament spot with two games yet to play.

Baseball

The team secured its first postseason berth in 10 years with a 9-1 win over Nantucket on Saturday. After a win over Chatham on Wednesday, they moved to an 11-7 (4-4 in the EAC) season record with one remaining game still scheduled for today.

The girls' tennis team is locked in a semifinals showdown against Cohasset, as play continues well into the evening. The winner of the match advances to the finals of the MIAA Division 3 South Section tournament. As of 6:40 p.m., the score was tied 1-1 with three matches yet to finish.

Both doubles matches went to three sets and lasted over three and a half hours, with Julia Cooper and Annabelle Hackney winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 and Alyssa Adler and Dylan Brockmeyer falling in three sets, 7-5, 3-6, 1-6.