'It was a great year'
Whalers romp in first round before slipping to Avon
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
As the Whalers and their coaching staff will tell you, and as the games

MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent The Whalers were tenacious at Avon, where a large contingent of islanders cheered them on, but the Panthers derailed this year's postseason run. Above, Delroy Lawrence, who had nine blocked shots in the game, looks for the open man.

attest, the pace of the postseason is fast, furious and not for the faint of heart. The best basketball of the year is on display - a true treat for fans, but a test for teams hoping to advance.

Buoyed by their strong showing against South Shore Vo-Tech in the first round of the state tournament last Thursday, the Whalers traveled to Avon Saturday where the No. 1 and No. 3 scorers in Eastern Massachusetts, in the persons of junior Akeem Williams (32.5 points per game average) and sophomore Deric McCottrell (27.1 ppg), were waiting.

Playing with determination and zeal, the sixth-seeded Whalers kept pace with fast-breaking and third-seeded Avon but were outgunned in the end, 85-76.

The plan was to control the tempo of the game so that Williams and McCottrell had fewer opportunities to touch the ball. And the plan, for the most part, worked.

"We tried to control the pace," Whalers coach Beau Almodobar said afterwards. "We did that in the first half. We were getting back on defense; you have to or they'll fast break you to death."

Nantucket's hustle gave the Whalers a 43-39 halftime advantage. Down by six points to start the second period, the Whalers outscored the Panthers, 23-13, in the stanza, limiting McCottrell to eight points and blanking Williams totally.

Nantucket, meanwhile, rode the inspired play of juniors Delroy Lawrence and Josh Butler. Lawrence had 10 points in the second period, while Butler had 6. Both were perfect from the foul line in the first half, with the poised Butler going seven-forseven from the charity stripe.

Each player was dominant on defense, with Lawrence blocking nine shots in the game.

Avon chipped away at Nantucket's lead, outscoring the Whalers, 26-11, in the third period to lead, 65-54, at the start of the fourth. From there, McCottrell and Williams took over, scoring all 20 Panther points in the fourth quarter. McCottrell finished the game with 32 points, while Williams had 29 points, 22 in the second half.

Butler led the Whalers with 21 points, followed by Lawrence with 20, Jordan Ferreira with 19 points (including four 3-pointers), Tomas Smaliorius with seven, Adam Spencer with four, Evan Hourihan with four and Mike Aucoin with one point.

Before Avon, however, there was South Shore Vo-Tech.

Taking the approach that the post season is indeed a new season, the Whalers came out strong in last Thursday's first round game and summarily dispatched No. 11 seed South Shore Vo-Tech, 65-47.

The Whalers were led by Lawrence, who when he wasn't hitting for one of his game-leading 23 points, was muscling rebounds, leading fastbreaks with long outlet passes, blocking shots and playing inspired defense. The entire team, in fact, turned in an inspirational performance in their last home game of the year; a game that was, for the seniors, their last home game in a Nantucket uniform.

"It was a great year," Almodobar said of the Whalers, who finish the season 15-7 and who made it to the quarterfinal round for the second straight year. "This is definitely one of the better teams I've had, from top to bottom. It's just a good group to coach and to be around."

Almodobar also praised coaches Tom and Michael Ferreira and the fans for their support. At least half the bleachers at Avon were filled with loudly supportive Whalers fans that included the girls' basketball team. "That was great support; you can't beat that."