Two for the tourney
Boys, girls earn top seeds Boys defeat CCA by 30 points, play today at home
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR

Employing the formula that has worked so well all year - namely, hitting the boards and playing tenacious D - the Whaler boys advanced to the quarterfinal round of the South Sectional basketball tournament Monday afternoon. The third-ranked Whalers defeated 14th seed Cape Cod Academy, 71-41.

The boys are scheduled to face 11th-seeded Westport this afternoon at 2 p.m. at the John J. O'Neill Gymnasium.

The varsity girls team, with a 17- 3 regular season record, earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs and is slated to face the winner of last night's Tri-County/Bishop Connolly contest at home tomorrow afternoon. The girls are the number 2 seed in Division 4.

The boys had dispatched Cape Cod Academy in two prior meetings this season, and the pre-game expectations were that Monday's game would be no different. Nantucket never trailed from the opening tipoff, pulled out to a seven point, 29-22, lead at halftime, and went on a 14-4 run to start the second stanza. CCA never got closer than 10 points after that.

After the game, coach Beau Almodobar liked his team's style of play.

"We did a good job on the glass," he said. "Rebounds are really the key to this tournament."

Centers Josh Butler and Kevin Stanton proved their coach right by pulling down 11 rebounds each and by turning in outstanding games. Stanton contributed 16 points, 9 of them coming in that early second quarter run, to help put the game away. Butler had 10 points of his own and was huge on defense, blocking several CCA shot attempts.

Jordan Ferreira led all scorers with 23 points, including four 3- pointers and Evan Hourihan had 7 points, including a 3-pointer.

Another important aspect for the Whalers was their ability to convert free throws, a necessary piece of business if Nantucket hopes to advance. The Whalers were good on 15 of 17 from the charity stripe.

"Boxing out, rebounding and free throw shooting, that's the key," Almodobar said.

With both the boys' and girls' teams undefeated atop the Lighthouse Conference, earning each the top seedings they deserve, the Whalers have a chance to continue to appear as a tandem in this year's tournament. The playoff format dictates that neither team can have more than two home playoff games, meaning that tomorrow's contest, no matter the outcome, will be the last home game of the season for the boys.

Should the girls win tomorrow afternoon (game time scheduled for 2 p.m.) their next game will probably be Saturday afternoon.

Here's hoping for some

future road games. I