FALMOUTH — Thomas Coyne scored a game-high 35 points, including 22 in the first half, and his brother, Colin Coyne, scored Falmouth’s last nine points as the Yachtsmen held off Cape Elizabeth 69-66 in a Class A South boys’ basketball game Tuesday night.
The back-and-forth game featured hot 3-point shooting. Cape made 12 3-pointers; Falmouth 10.
The game was tied at 60 when Colin Coyne hit a 3-pointer from outside the top of the key with 3:04 left to give Falmouth (2-0) a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Cape cut it to one with 1:09 remaining on two free throws by Marcus Donnelly.
Colin Coyne went to the line in the final 28 seconds and was 6 for 6. Cape Elizabeth (0-2), last year’s Western Class B state champs, misfired on a 3-pointer that would have tied it.
Cape had a steal late in the game, but Falmouth stole it back moments later. The Yachtsmen were almost done in by three straight offensive foul calls late in the game.
“This was a big win because Cape is going to win a lot of games and this will be worth a lot of points,” said Thomas Coyne, who made seven 3-pointers.
“To be able to beat Cape when they hit 12 3-pointers is a testament to our team.”
Colin Coyne finished with 14 points.
For Cape, Quinn Hewitt, Bowe and Donnelly accounted for all but seven of its points.
Hewitt led Cape with 24 points. Bowe, a sophomore, had 19, including five 3-pointers and Donnelly had 16.
“I told the kids they played well,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Jim Ray. “We just came up short. We played much better than we did in our opener against Greely. We played well on the defensive end and we made the extra pass on offense.”
Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan said the experience Colin Coyne gained last season when his brother was sidelined with a broken foot for most of the season showed up in crunch time against the Capers.
“Colin had to assume more of a role last year with his brother out,” said Halligan. “He learned a lot last season and it’s helping him early this season.”
The Coynes combined to score nine straight points midway in the second quarter to erase a four-point Cape lead. With Cape leading 24-20, Colin Coyne hit a 3-pointer. Thomas followed with a nifty drive and bank shot. Thomas scored again and Colin finished with another basket before Hewitt scored for Cape.
Falmouth led 34-31 at halftime. The Capers opened with the first five points of the third quarter to grab a 36-34 lead. Donnelly hit a 3-pointer from the side and Bowe scored.
The Yachtsmen then went on an 11-2 run, started by a basket by Sam Skop. Thomas Coyne had seven points in the spurt. Hewitt had Cape’s lone basket.
Cape kept it close, though, as Hewitt scored on back-to-back drives. With the third quarter winding down, Hewitt converted a 3-point play to tie it at 48, but Jack Bryant hit two from the line to give Falmouth a 50-48 lead after three.
Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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