The Martha’s Vineyard Youth Basketball League tipped off its second season on Tuesday, March 22, at a packed high school gymnasium.
The co-ed high school basketball league consists of six teams, and is run by a group of Island volunteers who believe in the importance of giving Island youth a constructive activity to participate in a couple of nights a week. The league is based upon the principles of competitiveness, good sportsmanship, and most important, having fun with friends.
Games are played at the high school Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Games are from 6 until 7 pm and from 7 until 8 pm.
Tuesday’s games
The first game of the season was a double-overtime thriller that had Red beating Orange 58-53.
At the half, Orange had a 34-26 lead, but the sharpshooting of Nate Story for the Red team was too much for Orange to match.
For Red, Nate Story finished with 35 points, while Maria Andrade chipped in 6 points.
Orange was led by Barrett Oliver and Nico Arroyo, who scored 18 and 17, respectively. Delilah Oliver contributed 4 points.
The second game of the season had Lime beating Blue in a hard-fought battle, 38-36.
For Lime, Tysean Thomas scored 12, Noah Jones had 9, and Josie Welch had a timely basket in the second quarter to take the lead.
For Blue, Manny Olivieria had 14 (10 of which were in the fourth quarter), and Toby Roberts contributed 9 points. Chandler Blau’s tenacious defense helped keep the game close.
The third game of the season pitted Purple against Green. After numerous lead changes, Purple pulled out a 71-67 victory.
For Green, Ryan Koster had 25 points, and Kaio DaCosta scored 19. Clarissa Pinto scored a timely basket in the third quarter.
Purple was led by a dominant performance by Mataeus Rodrigues, who scored 36 points. Josh Pereira chipped in 14. Agata Rodrigues contributed a solid 8 points in the win.
Thursday’s games
The first game of the evening had Blue beating Purple 42-39.
For Blue, Xavier Clarke had 7 points, while leading all scorers in the third quarter with 6 of them. Nicole Alves scored an early basket to set the aggressive tone of the game. Piper Blau and Teagen Meyers each made three-pointers in the second to help carry a 22-17 lead into halftime.
For Purple, Joshua Pereira contributed 11 points, while Parker Bradlee scored 8. Aedan Coogan’s defense gave players on the Purple fits all game.
The second game of the evening had Lime beating Orange 67-47.
Josh Lake of the Lime team went on the hottest shooting streak of the season. He made 10 three-pointers while finishing the game with 36 points. Noah Jones had 6, and Josie Welch scored on a strong drive to the basket in the fourth.
For the Orange, Barrett Oliver and Nico Arroyo scored 16 and 14, respectively. Jack Engler contributed 6, and Jack DeBettencourt scored 5. Delilah Oliver scored a basket, and Sawyer Schaefer was very active defensively.
The last game of the evening had Red beating Green 56-54, in a quintuple-overtime basketball game.
The perfect 6-for-6 free throw shooting was a key contributor in the Red team’s victory. Nate Story finished the game with 21 points while shooting 4-4 from the free throw line, and Silas Abrams finished with 12 points while shooting 2-2 on his free throws. Maria Andrade had 4 points in the win.
For the Green team, Kaio DaCosta scored 23 points, Jesse Yachbian made four three-pointers and 14 points in the game, while Porter Mohanke scored 11. Maria Soares was a strong facilitator, assisting on many points, and Clarissa Pinto’s tough defense kept the game close.
