Falmouth boys win at Cheverus to remain unbeaten

Falmouth junior Brady Coyne defends Cheverus junior Silvano Ismail during the Yachtsmen’s 76-40 victory Wednesday. Coyne led all scorers with 27 points. Michael Hoffer / For The Forecaster

BOX SCORE

Falmouth 76 Cheverus 40

F- 18 24 20 14- 76
C- 3 17 11 9- 40

F- Coyne 10-1-27, Stowell 7-2-18, McKee 3-2-8, Dilworth 3-0-7, Daniels 3-0-6, Hanrahan 2-2-6, Peelen 2-0-4

C- Kapothanasis 4-0-12, McNabb 3-0-8, Mitchell 2-2-6, Sanborn 2-2-6, Huntington 2-1-5, Hoglund 1-0-3

3-pointers:
F (9) Coyne 6, Stowell 2, Dilworth 1
C (7) Kapothanasis 4, McNabb 2, Hoglund 1

Turnovers:
F- 15
C- 18

Free throws
F: 7-11
C: 5-6

PORTLAND—Falmouth’s boys’ basketball team believes it can go undefeated this COVID-19-abbreviated season.

So far, the Yachtsmen appear capable of not just running the table, but of never breaking a sweat in doing so.

Wednesday afternoon at Keegan Gymnasium, facing a Cheverus squad seeking to get in the win column for the first time, Falmouth rolled to its third consecutive emphatic victory, once again displaying tremendous balance and shooting ability and getting contributions from starters and reserves alike.

After beating Greely twice last week by a combined 83 points, the Yachtsmen put a stranglehold on this one quickly, racing to an 18-3 lead after one quarter, thanks in part to three 3-pointers and four layups.

The Stags did draw within 10 points at one juncture in the second period, but Falmouth closed the half on a 16-4 run to end all doubt and lead, 42-20, behind 13 points apiece from sharpshooting junior guards Brady Coyne and Jack Stowell.

By the end of the third period, the Yachtsmen had doubled up Cheverus, 62-31, and they went on to a 76-40 victory.

Coyne led all scorers with 27 points and Falmouth improved to 3-0 on the season, dropping the Stags to 0-3 in the process.

“We feel like we’re unstoppable,” Coyne said. “We’ve been itching to play and we want to work hard and win as many games as we can. We want to go undefeated. That’s the goal.”

More dominance

Falmouth was arguably the most impressive team around in the season’s first week, twice dominating longtime nemesis Greely, 77-47 in Cumberland and 85-32 at home.

Cheverus, meanwhile, dropped a couple games to Portland, 52-45, at the Portland Exposition Building, and 44-30 at home.

The teams didn’t meet a season ago and hadn’t played a countable game since the 2014 Western A quarterfinals, a 56-48 Yachtsmen victory.

Wednesday, with the Stags playing without injured senior Dylan Morrison, there wasn’t much resistance to the Falmouth juggernaut, which went on to another decisive win.

Just 29 seconds in, Stowell fed senior Vinnie Hanrahan and a lead the Yachtsmen wouldn’t relinquish.

After senior Sean Dilworth added a 3-pointer, Cheverus got on the board with 4:46 to go in the opening stanza, as sophomore Luke McNabb drained a 3, but Falmouth scored the final 13 points of the quarter, as senior Ethan McKee set up Stowell for a layup on the fast break, Stowell made two foul shots, Dilworth drove for an off-hand layup, Dilworth set up McKee off an inbounds pass for a layup, Coyne made a 3 for his first points, then Coyne hit a runner with 2.6 seconds left for a commanding 18-3 lead after eight minutes.

The Yachtsmen forced the Stags to turn the ball over 10 times in the frame.

Cheverus showed some offensive life in the second period, but Falmouth was able to extend its lead.

After Coyne opened the quarter with a jumper, junior Seth Huntington converted an old-fashioned three-point play (layup, foul, free throw) for the Stags to end Falmouth’s 15-0 run and a 5-minute, 31-second drought.

McNabb added a jumper, but Stowell made a three and McKee hit a free throw for a 24-8 advantage.

“Our bigs can finish and they’re athletic,” said longtime Yachtsmen coach Dave Halligan. “They can run the court.”

After McNabb drained a 3, Hanrahan sank two foul shots for the Yachtsmen, but a three-point play from senior Nolan Sanborn and a Sanborn driving layup with 3:24 left before halftime pulled the Stags within 10 points, 26-16.

Falmouth then closed the half on a 16-4 surge to end all doubt.

A corner 3 from Coyne got the run started. Coyne then set up Stowell for a layup and after Huntington answered with a putback, senior Tanner Daniels made a layup, Coyne hit a 3, Stowell drove for a layup, then Coyne set up Stowell for another layup.

In the waning seconds, Huntington fed sophomore Peyton Mitchell for a layup, but a putback from Daniels just before the horn made it 42-20 Yachtsmen at halftime.

Coyne and Stowell had 13 points apiece in the first half and Falmouth forced 13 turnovers.

The third quarter featured the Yachtsmen adding to their lead.

Coyne drove for a layup to start the second half, but senior Evangelo Kapothanasis answered with his first 3 for Cheverus.

After Coyne and Kapothanasis traded 3-balls, Stowell knocked down a 3-pointer, Dilworth banked home a runner, Coyne made a 3, Dilworth set up McKee for a fastbreak layup and with 2:16 to go in the third, Dilworth fed Daniels for a layup and a 59-26 advantage.

Mitchell stopped the 12-0 run with a pair of free throws, but Coyne made yet another 3 before a 3-ball from Kapothanasis made the score 62-31 heading for the fourth quarter.

The Stags scored the first five points of the final stanza, as junior Brady Hoglund knocked down a 3 and Mitchell made a layup after a steal, but McKee converted a three-point play, Dilworth set up Hanrahan for a fastbreak layup, Coyne fed Stowell for a fastbreak layup and Stowell returned the favor, setting up Coyne for a three-point play and a 72-36 lead.

“Ball movement is key for us,” Coyne said. “Getting it to the open guys. The extra pass. That’s what wins you games.”

“When we play together, we’re really good,” Halligan said. “I thought the second half was better than the first half in that regard.”

After Kapothanasis made his final 3 and Sanborn added a free throw for Cheverus’ final point, Falmouth senior reserve John Peelen, seeing his first action of the season, capped his strong performance in the paint with a putback and a leaner to bring the curtain down on the Yachtsmen’s 76-40 victory.

“We have a bunch of good guys,” Coyne said. “We played pickup games all summer and fall and we remembered how we felt last year when we walked off the court after losing to York (in the Class A South Final),” Coyne said. “We kept our edge and wanted to keep it going through this season.”

Coyne didn’t just lead all scorers with 27 points, he also had four assists.

Stowell added 18 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals.

McKee had eight points and six rebounds, Dilworth seven points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals, Daniels six points, Hanrahan six points, six boards and four assists and Peelen four points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

“(John) brought intensity,” Coyne said. “He always goes as hard as he can. He works hard to get every board, offense or defense, and he’s a defensive powerhouse.”

“Having John back makes us even better,” Halligan said. “He gives us some depth.”

Falmouth had a 38-22 rebounding advantage, shot 7-of-11 from the free throw line and committed 15 turnovers.

The Stags were paced by Kapothanasis, who had 12 points and six rebounds.

McNabb had eight points off the bench, Mitchell (five rebounds) and Sanborn (four assists) finished with six points apiece, Huntington added five and Hoglund had three.

Cheverus made 5-of-6 free throws, but turned the ball over 18 times.

“(Falmouth’s) very good,” said Stags coach Ryan Soucie. “They have very good guards and they’re big and the big guys know their roles and fulfill them. They have more experience than we do. We have a bunch of young kids who are learning how to play.”

One more time

The teams meet against Friday afternoon in Falmouth.

Next week, Cheverus hosts Lewiston Monday, goes to Deering Tuesday, then welcomes the Rams on Thursday.

“We compete and want to win,” Soucie said. “At the same time, we know it’s a different season and we’re looking at it as a chance for younger guys to get experience and learn. We’ll run out 11 or 12 guys every time we play. The kids are coachable. We’ll hopefully put it together and shoot more consistently and win some games.”

The Yachtsmen face Portland twice next week, Wednesday at Portland and Friday at home. They also have two games remaining against both Deering and South Portland.

“We’ve been working hard and we’ve had a lot of practice time, which is good for the younger guys,” said Halligan. “So far, it’s been fun. I’m sure we’ll get tested at some point.”