Bishop Feehan boys basketball loses EAC clash with Martha's Vineyard

The cliche is that basketball is a game of runs. The thing about cliches is that they always contain a grain of truth and this was a game that lived up to it.

The Bishop Feehan Shamrocks boys' basketball team fell into a tie for first place in the EAC with a 64-57 home defeat against Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday night in a game that featured each team making big runs in the first half to try and take control.

It was the Shamrocks, who started on fire, outscoring the Vineyard 17-2 in the opening six minutes. Chris Adams knocked down a couple of three-pointers and had eight points in the run while Andrew Murphy had four.

The Vineyarders couldn't find their offense and were getting no stops on the defensive end. At the two-minute mark, Martha's Vineyard coach Mike Joyce called a timeout.

When asked what he said at that moment, Joyce replied, "I don't know that all of it is printable, but we need to play with energy. We press and we run, and we were lethargic and they were killing us. That 10 minutes from the two-minute mark to the end of the half was the best we've played all season."

That timeout changed the momentum as the Vineyard stormed back with an 11-1 run that was only bettered by the 14-0 run that they had over the final four minutes of the first half.

All told they outscored Feehan, 29-7, after the timeout to build a seven-point lead at the break. 

In the second half, Feehan were never able to contain the Vineyard's offensive attack as Jack Roberts scored 24 points and Peter Keaney added 19.

Each knocked down clutch shots as the Shamrocks tried to get back into the game.

Shamrocks coach Matt Freeman knows that his team is going to struggle in shootouts and he needed his team to handle the full-court pressure better. "We want to play games in the 40's and 50's this season there's no secret in that and to do that we need to control the tempo," he said. "They really controlled the tempo of the game and we had to play catch-up."

In the second half, the Shamrocks continued to try and get themselves back in front, but the Vineyard always had an answer. Sam Forget scored five straight points on the inside to make it 52-48 with just over three minutes to go but a three-pointer and then an old fashioned three-point play for Roberts put the Vineyard ahead to stay.

"It just felt like all the big moments of the game, all the exciting plays of the game were coming from the purple jerseys," said Freeman, "The limitations that we know are in our team, this is the first time in 10 games that they've come out."

Joyce was proud of the way his team handled the inevitable comeback from Feehan, and credited his traveling contingent of fans for assisting.

"We had a lot of support from the island today and that just drives us when we play," he said. "To beat Feehan anytime in their gym is big."

The win for the Vineyard (10-1, 4-1) puts them in a tie with Feehan (11-2, 4-1) at the top of the EAC. The Shamrocks will play again on Friday night at Coyle-Cassidy, while the Vineyard will play the same night at home against Somerset.