Schools
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ basketball team defeated a determined team from Rockland at home last night by a final score of 70-62 in the first round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.
The game was played before a standing-room-only crowd in the high school gymnasium — it may be school vacation week on the Vineyard but plenty of people are still at home.
In their second year in the league, the Martha’s Vineyard boys’ basketball team this week earned a share of the Eastern Athletic Conference regular season championship, with a thrilling and hard-fought 59-55 win against foe Bishop Stang on Tuesday before the largest home crowd of the season.
The team will share the conference title with cochampions Bishop Feehan.
Vineyard sports fans had their fill of home team action on Saturday, with all four varsity winter sports teams playing and a fifth game played by the junior varsity girls’ basketball team for good measure. But there was little joy on a blustery winter day; three of the varsity teams lost and one played to a tie.
The bright spot was the girls’ JV squad, which defeated Duxbury 40-24.
Boys’ Basketball
The Vineyard boys’ basketball team lost 75-62 to conference rival Bishop Feehan on Tuesday, ending an 11-game winning streak.
Earlier this month, the Vineyarders hit a three-point shot to beat Bishop Feehan in the closing seconds. But this week it was the Shamrocks turn for dramatics; they overcame a 10-point deficit in the first quarter and forced the Vineyard into 24 turnovers.
The boys’ basketball team continued to roll this week, improving its record to 10-1 — the team’s best start ever under head coach Mike Joyce.
The team now stands atop the Eastern Athletic Conference with a record of 3-0, and already has clinched a berth in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, with roughly half a season yet to play.
The girls’ hockey team continues to improve and the boys’ hockey team staged a turnaround to the delight of team coach Matt Mincone.
It was a jam-packed day of sports last Saturday on the Vineyard, as both the boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey teams posted big wins over conference rival Bishop Feehan, while the steadily-improving girls’ hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against Marshfield.
Boys’ Basketball
Approximately 400 people jammed the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School gymnasium on a bitterly cold afternoon to watch the boys’ take on Bishop Feehan. And they certainly got their money’s worth.