POLAND – It’s not that common for a team to shoot 0-for-13 in a quarter and still find itself in the ballgame. It’s even less likely that said team will walk off the hardwood victorious when the game is through.
But what are the chances of putting up the 0-fer and just five points in a quarter and running away with a 15-point win?
That’s what Cape Elizabeth did Friday night. The Capers survived an ugly third quarter thanks to a nearly perfect first quarter and knocked off Poland, 52-37, in a crucial season finale for both teams.
With the win, Cape (12-6) likely earned a first-round bye to the Western Class B quarterfinals. The Knights (8-10), meanwhile, will probably have to play a prelim game on the road next Wednesday.
“It was a big game for us. I’m hoping that will position us where we want to be,” said Cape coach Jim Ray. “We’d like to be (ranked) four or five.”
Joe Geoghegan tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Shaine Burks added 15 points and five steals to lead Cape. Max Levine paced Poland with 11 points and four steals while Alex Smith added nine points.
Geoghegan and Burks dominated the first quarter as the Capers busted out to a 26-8 lead. Geoghegan (nine points in the quarter) started a 14-0 run with a three-point play midway through the period, while Burks (10 points, three steals) sustained the run with his quick hands, disrupting the Knights at the defensive end and getting Cape’s transition game going.
Making things worse for Poland was some early foul trouble for 6-7 center Jon Lecznar which took away the Knights’ first inside option and freed up Geoghegan in the paint. Cape took a 15-point lead into halftime.
Poland picked up its defensive intensity in the third quarter, leading to the Capers’ goose egg from the field. But the Knights were only able to make a small dent in the lead, getting no closer than when Smith’s bucket made it a 36-25 game with 3:34 to go in the third.
“Defensively, the kids did a pretty good job,” Ray said. “What makes it a struggle for me is I keep looking up at the scoreboard and seeing we’re doing a good job defensively but we’re just not putting the ball in the basket.”
Geoghegan finally got the lid off the cylinder with a jump hook 45 seconds into the fourth quarter to put Cape up by 14. A Liam O’Shea jumper moments later essentially salted the game away.
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