FALMOUTH — Two of the state’s best schoolboy basketball teams gave a packed gym a dose of tournament atmosphere Saturday night.

In the end, Falmouth’s depth and defense prevailed in a 69-55 victory against previously unbeaten Greely.

Tom Coyne scored 24 points and Nick Burton added 17 for Falmouth (9-1). Mike McDevitt led Greely (9-1) with 20 points.

Falmouth avenged a 57-53 overtime loss to Greely on Dec. 21.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Greely Coach Travis Seaver. “It’s nice for the schools and the communities.”

Unfortunately it will be their final meeting this season. Falmouth has moved up to Class A and Greely remains in Class B.

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Greely led 10-3 and 12-5 with McDevitt, a 6-foot-7 center, scoring eight points. But reserve I.V. Stucker hit a 3-pointer to spark Falmouth.

Coyne scored four straight points near the end of the quarter, then Burton hit a 3 from the top of the circle at the buzzer.

It gave the Yachtsmen both their first lead and the quarter lead. Falmouth never trailed again.

Falmouth outscored Greely 18-13 in the second quarter to lead 33-27 at halftime. Jack Simonds hit a 3 just before the half.

“We weren’t playing as intensely as we needed to at the start,” said Coyne. “Once our defense picked up, our offense came along and we started getting fast-break points and picking up the tempo.”

Coyne had 14 points in the first half. Simonds scored 10 in the second quarter and finished with 16.

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The Yachtsmen stayed in control in the second half, outscoring Greely, 36-28.

Greely trailed by only five points after a basket by Connor Hanley near the end of the third quarter, but Coyne hit a 3-pointer and the Yachtsmen led 50-40 after three.

Falmouth finished with seven 3-pointers. The Rangers had four.

“It was a terrific team effort,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. “We had guys step up and play their roles. Guys like Matt (Tseng), Justin Rogers and Addison Foltmer contributed. Jack (Simonds) and Tom (Coyne) are big-game performers. The other guys filled in well.

“Foltmer came in when Nick Burton got into foul trouble and Tseng played great defense. In the first game against them, a lot of the guys were still learning their roles. It’s paying off now. This was our biggest point game of the year.”

After losing to Greely, Falmouth had this date circled.

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“Greely is a very good team but I think we might have taken them lightly the first time,” said Coyne. “We really prepared for this one. We spread the floor on offense. We have a lot of weapons and we’re hard to guard.”

Falmouth doubled down on McDevitt, sometimes with three men guarding him down low.

“We weren’t moving the ball as well as we did early,” said Seaver. “We needed to reverse the ball, which would have given Mike more open looks. Falmouth is a very good team. They played a lot better than we did and shot a lot better too.”

Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH


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