Boys earn holiday breather after three straight wins
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
After three straight victories, capped off by Saturday’s 65-43 takeout of South Shore Tech, the Whalers boys’ basketball squad can enjoy a Christmas break before play resumes a week from Thursday at the Cape and Islands tournament.

The Whaler boys are off to a stellar start, thanks to a hustling style, as evidenced Saturday in Evan Hourihan’s playmaking. MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent

For coach Beau Almodobar, the season opening 3- 1 record is his best ever at this point, a fact that has him understandably pleased. He’s not only happy about the victories, he likes what he sees in his team.

“We’ve got balance, speed and some good size,” he said after Saturday’s game, pointing to 6-foot-seveninch Kevin “Tree” Stanton, and the 6-foot-four trio of Jordan Beans, Josh Butler and Delroy Lawrence. Lawrence has stepped up his game considerably this year. Saturday marked his third double/double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Coming off Friday’s 64-48 drubbing of West Bridgewater, the boys dominated South Shore Tech from the opening tap with a balanced attack that looked as though they’d been playing for months and not the four games they’ve played to date. “Everybody’s contributing,” Almodobar said. “I’m always happy as a coach to give everyone a lot of playing time.”

Saturday’s scoring was indicative of Nantucket’s deep bench. Captain Jordan Ferreira led Whaler scoring with 15 points, followed by Lawrence’s 13, Evan Hourihan’s 7 and Butler’s 6. The unselfish style of play features crisp passing and tenacious defense. “They hustle,” was Almodobar’s understatement.

The team’s aggressiveness paid off at West Bridgewater, as the Whalers went up by 15 in the first three minutes of play and never looked back. Ferreira pumped in 20 points and Butler nabbed 13 rebounds as Nantucket controlled the boards and the tempo of the game. Andriques Farmer had 10 points, all in the second half, Adam Spencer had 9 and Hourihan had 6 in the rout. So, a little time off means time to relax, right?

Wrong.

“They love to play,” Almodobar said, as Butler continued to shoot baskets after Saturday’s game. “See? They can’t stop.”

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