The crowd thundered in the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s Pachico Gymnasium on Friday as the Island’s boys varsity basketball team wrapped up a dominant winter season, beating the Falmouth High School Clippers 44 to 42 to win the Cape and Islands League Championship.
The matchup, which came down to the final buzzer and saw a massive fan turnout, was also the culmination of the Vineyard team’s late season, 10-game win streak that is propelling the boys to the state playoffs.
Though the game ended in favor of the Vineyard, the Island team was behind by four points (42-38) with just minutes left in the game, but clean foul shots by junior Landon Lepine (No. 22) and junior Jacoby Light (No. 1) and then three-pointers by Light and sophomore Tauras Biskis (No. 12) put the Vineyarders into the lead seconds before the final buzzer. Those seconds turned into minutes as timeout after timeout was called, and gameplans were adjusted.
With 3.7 seconds on the clock, Falmouth possessed the ball and looked for an inbound pass from under the hoop. The pass connected, and a Falmouth player took a shot from the three-point corner, but the ball hit the rim and bounced into the hands of Biskis, who guarded it as the buzzer blared. The fans erupted in cheers as the Vineyarders celebrated their victory at center court.
“It’s great,” said Vineyard Head Coach Mike Joyce of the championship victory. “These kids have played together since third or fourth grade and have really worked hard at it. You can see it in the way they play for each other and with each other.”
The Vineyarders, who finished the season with a 16-2 record, are now turning their focus to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 2 state playoffs.
Joyce highlighted that there was fierce competition in the Cape and Islands League this year and praised his team.
“It’s a great accomplishment for them, but that’s only step one. Hopefully we got a few more to go,” Joyce said.
The Vineyarders entered the court on Friday with high energy, seizing control and taking a 17 to 9 lead in the first quarter. Falmouth clamped down on the Vineyard’s offense in the second to reduce the deficit to one at 20-19, but the Vineyarders tacked a couple more points onto the scoreboard in the final seconds of the quarter to take a 24-20 advantage going into the third.
“The crowd tonight was amazing,” Joyce said about the start of the game. “That energy, that’s partly why we started the way we did. We were just burning it up. And then I think we kind of had a little exhale.”
But the Clippers continued to prove the game was far from over in the third quarter. Taking advantage of numerous Vineyard fouls and keeping the game close with strong defensive play, Falmouth slowly closed the slim gap with the Vineyarders leading by one (32-31) after the end of the quarter.
Falmouth pushed ahead in the fourth quarter, taking the lead 42-38 with just minutes left in the game. The Vineyarders rallied to take back the lead with seconds remaining as fans roared “Let’s go Vineyard” chants. After Falmouth missed the game-winning shot in the last seconds and the buzzer sounded, a collective exhale from the crowd was followed by rapturous cheers that shook the gymnasium.
Joyce applauded the Vineyard team’s mental and physical toughness on the court.
“I think today they showed their toughness and perseverance mentally,” Joyce said after the game, highlighting the way his players responded to a physically demanding game. “We came out like gangbusters, and then when Falmouth started throwing some haymakers, we backed off for a second. I think it hit us a little bit, because we thought we were gonna just keep doing it.”
Joyce highlighted Falmouth’s strong defense, which was able to shut down the Vineyarders more efficiently than any other school the Island team had faced all season. While the game was close in the second and third quarters, Falmouth allowed almost no clean shots throughout the match. Joyce said he was proud of the Vineyarders for not giving up despite Falmouth’s mid-game onslaught.
“They clamped down on us in so many ways. I just didn’t think anyone would be able to do that,” Joyce said. “That’s a game where they [the Vineyarders] definitely could have — when Falmouth was caught back up to us — they could have said, ‘Okay, they got us,’ and we didn’t. They fought for more, and I was very proud of that effort.”
While Falmouth was playing high intensity, shut-down defense, Joyce echoed a sentiment to his team that he has emphasized all season: They needed to slow down on offense, and make the defense play to them.
“They were playing hard D, so I said, ‘Let’s make them play hard D for the whole 35,’” Joyce said. “You just have to be patient. If you come down and shoot in 10 [seconds], they’re gonna play twice as hard the next time. But, if they have to play 30 seconds hard every time we come down, they’re gonna get tired, and we’re gonna find openings. So they might be able to do that for the quarter. They’re not gonna do it for the next three.”
Joyce said the Vineyard’s defense was also reliable all game, but it takes an overall team effort to win a close game like the one on Friday.
“It’s all part of that puzzle, you know, in a game like that. Usually you don’t have one guy that just totally stands out, but you have a group effort getting the ball, getting the rebounds, playing defense. We went through pretty much every defense we ran trying to just keep them confused,” Joyce said.
As it was one of the last games for the Vineyard seniors to play at the high school, a moment was dedicated to honor them. During the half-time intermission, parents gathered with their sons as Joyce spoke over the loudspeaker, saying goodbye to the seniors and honoring them for their contributions to the program and time spent at the high school. Vineyard basketball team seniors include WIlliam Nicholson (No. 5), Milo Sullivan (No. 23), BobbyJoe Cook (No. 13), and Floyd Hershey (No. 11).
Looking ahead, the Vineyarders will play in a tournament at Apponequet Regional High School in Lakeville to prepare for the intensity that comes in the state tournament. The Vineyarders play Bishop Stang High School on Monday at Apponequet at 4 pm. If the Vineyarders win, they will play the winner of Wareham High School and Apponequet High School on Wednesday, away.
“It’s great practice for the tournament. You’re going in there, you’re going to play teams that are tough, that are very good teams, and have lots of talent. You gotta go in there and play well. And so, hopefully, we can keep it going,” said Joyce. “We just need to keep playing good basketball. I think we’ve got to clean up some offensive stuff, but defensively, I’ve been so impressed and happy with how we’ve been playing.”
As of Monday, the Vineyard’s varsity basketball team is ranked ninth in the MIAA Division 3 standings. The state playoff tournament schedule has yet to be released by the MIAA, but if the Vineyard remains in the top 16, the team’s first state playoff game is guaranteed to be held at the Island’s Pachico Gymnasium.
The Martha’s Vineyard boys junior varsity team also won 54-53 over Falmouth on Friday in a 4:30 pm game that started before the varsity game.