‘Tremendous’ season for boys basketball

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The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys basketball team lost in the Round of 16 in their bid for a state championship, coming up just short against a tough Medfield High School team 53-61.

Medfield started out hot, going up by eight points within the first five minutes of the game; by halftime, the lead had stretched to 9. 

Ultimately the MVRHS boys struggled to put together a run to take a lead in a tight game. With about 1 minute left, MVRHS had a chance to cut the lead down to a one-possession game, but ultimately couldn’t convert.

“The kids played hard, they played well. We just couldn’t get the shots to fall,” coach Mike Joyce said, noting that the team shot just above 30 percent. “We got the shots we wanted to get, they just didn’t go in. It’s not like anything we did was wrong.”

On Tuesday, Sam Zack and Josh Lake, both seniors who have had impressive seasons, each put in 18 points to lead the team in scoring; and Joyce said that overall the team played well on defense, forcing Medfield to take tough shots. But ultimately he said that Medfield was able to sink a few more contested shots.

While MVRHS ultimately fell just before the quarter finals, they had a successful year. Among the highlights, they took home the league title for the Cape and Islands League. Also Lake, in the last game of the season, broke a single-game scoring record for both boys and girls at the high school, scoring 46 points in February.

Earlier in the week, the boys team had a big win over Lynnfield High School on Saturday, 63-47 to reach the Round of 16. The Vineyarders had a good game from their senior captain, Nate Story, who poured in 20 points. Zack had a good game as well, scoring 15. And Tysean Thomas probably had his “best of game of the year” scoring eight points and snagging eight rebounds.

“It was a tremendous season,” Joyce reflected. “They worked hard all year, they had great team chemistry. They were really into working collectively and played well together. I’m really proud of their effort.”

Joyce noted that the team has their work cut out for them next year. Ten seniors will be graduating. “It will be a totally different looking team,” he said. “That’s how it works coaching high school basketball.”