By Michael Hoffer
MaxPreps.com
The 2008-09 basketball season continued last week but ran into a major Mother Nature-induced roadblock Thursday and Friday as countless games across the state were postponed by an ice storm that wiped out power to over 200,000 homes and businesses.
By Saturday, however, most of the action resumed and the excitement continued.
In Western B boys' action, Falmouth lost in the regional quarterfinals last year on a buzzer-beater, but this year, the Yachtsmen appear to have what it takes to go a long way in the tournament. Falmouth opened by avenging their playoff loss with a 54-49 win at Greely. After a 59-52 victory at Poland, the Yachtsmen finally played their home opener Saturday night against a Yarmouth squad which had won two straight in Falmouth.
The Clippers, 70-30 winners at Wells and 51-49 victors against visiting York, soon discovered they had no answers for the Yachtsmen Express.
The game was tied 6-6 midway through the first period when Falmouth seized control for good, thanks in large part to junior sharpshooter Stefano Mancini.
With 4:03 to go in the quarter, Mancini drained his first 3-ball, putting Falmouth ahead to stay, 9-6. Junior Sam Horning followed with a layup and Mancini made another 3. After senior Jack Wyman scored on a floater, Mancini hit another 3-point shot for a 19-6 lead with 1:08 to play in the first. After a Clippers' timeout, their standout senior Johnny Murphy made a short jumper, but a rebound putback by Horning with 1 second left gave the Yachtsmen a 21-8 advantage after one period.
Mancini began the second quarter the way he performed in the first by hitting another 3-pointer for a 24-8 lead.
"I've been trying not to go outside the offense," Mancini said. "We hit the open guy. I was open and they got the ball to me."
Falmouth extended its lead to 33-10 at halftime. Mancini had 16 first half points and held Murphy to just six. The Clippers made only 18 percent of their first half shots.
"(Stefano) wants to be a big-time player," Halligan said. "To do that, you have to play both ends of the court. He did tonight. That was nice to see."
Murphy heated up and hit three 3-pointers in the third period, but Yarmouth got no closer than 16. The Yachtsmen then cruised from there to a 52-33 victory.
"We thought it would be one of the toughest games on the schedule," said Mancini, who led all scorers with 22 points. "It's always a big game for us. It's good to get back at them."
"We're making progress," Halligan added. "We like what we're doing. We'll make some mistakes along the way, but I see more positives than negatives so far."
Murphy led Yarmouth (2-1) with 17 points.
"Falmouth played a terrific game, offensively and defensively," Yarmouth coach Adam Smith said. "They beat us up on the backboards. They kept us from doing anything. We didn't have much fight in us that first half.”
The other big scheduled Western B showdown, pitting defending regional champion Cape Elizabeth at Greely, was postponed by the weather. No makeup date had been announced at press time.
In Western A, the biggest story so far has been the strong play of the young Deering Rams. The Rams opened with easy wins at Sanford (53-25) and at home against Gorham (53-32), but Saturday's contest at Windham would prove to be a much bigger test.
Deering led 9-3 after one quarter and 23-21 at halftime, but the Eagles took a 33-31 lead heading for the fourth period. There, with the game deadlocked at 47-47, Windham had a chance to win the game with 1 second to go, but two foul shots were no good and the Rams escaped into overtime. There, junior Ian Nono had six points and Deering held on for a 53-50 victory to improve to 3-0.
Thornton Academy remains the big dog at the early stage of the season and faces a big test against longtime rival Biddeford Monday night.
In girls' action, Deering is living up to billing in Western A. The defending champs improved to 3-0 Saturday with a 80-33 drubbing of visiting Gorham behind 18 points from senior Diana Manduca, last year's tournament hero.
In Western B, Yarmouth sprung a 46-36 home upset on preseason favorite Falmouth Saturday, dropping the Yachtsmen to 1-2. Senior Michelle Moylan and freshman Morgan Cahill both had 12 points. Greely continues to surprise at 2-0 and three-time defending regional champ Lake Region continues to cruise along, improving to 3-0 Saturday with a 43-35 win at Gray-New Gloucester.
Michael Hoffer is the sports editor of The Forecaster, a family of weekly newspapers based in Falmouth. Michael can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
