Cape Elizabeth center Joe Geoghegan admitted to being frustrated at times during Saturday night’s game against Falmouth.
Every time the big man touched the ball in the low post he was swarmed. There was a lot of contact down there during the battles for rebounds and positioning. Geoghegan, who was the tallest player on the court at 6-foot-7, can deal with the contact. He’s used to it. He likes it.
The thing that had him frustrated more than anything was the score. The Capers, who were 3-0 heading into the game and have been hailed by some as favorites to win the Class B state title, weren’t able to recover from a 12-point first quarter deficit. They lost, 58-47.
“I don’t like losing,” said Geoghegan, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. “We are by no means scared of this team and we are ready to get them on senior night in Cape in a couple of months.”
A lot could change by the time the Yachtsmen and Capers play again Feb. 10. It’s unlikely, though, that Cape coach Jim Ray will change his game plan much before the late-season meeting.
According to Ray, things didn’t go wrong on Saturday because the Capers weren’t prepared. It was more of an execution thing.
“We didn’t stick with going inside. (Falmouth center Ryan) Gipson is tough. He’s a strong kid,” said Ray. “But Geoghegan’s 6-7, and I don’t care, guys have got to throw the ball to him different ways, and we’ve got to figure out different ways to get the ball to him.”
Instead, the Capers tried to get back in the game by bombing away from beyond the arc. From the two-minute mark in the first quarter to the end of the half, they attempted seven three-pointers – and didn’t make one.
“We had to start thinking about shooting them in the second half a little bit when the score got the way it was,” said Ray. “But in the first half, absolutely, we were just too quick to shoot it.
“When you shoot those and they don’t go in and you don’t rebound and you’re best kid isn’t getting enough touches, you’re in for a long night.”
The Capers pulled to within nine points by the end of the second quarter – thanks to five points by Geoghegan as well as buckets by Matt Allen and Nick Goodykoontz – but they had hard time getting much closer than that the rest of the way.
Part of the reason was the play of Falmouth senior forward, Bryant Barr, who will head to Davidson to play basketball next year. He had seven points in the third quarter and finished with 23.
Ray and his players knew what to expect out of Barr, though. Senior guard JJ Forcella was the wildcard. When Barr didn’t have an open look, Forcella did. He finished with 17.
“Forcella’s pretty good,” said Ray. “He can make that open shot if you leave him open. You can’t leave him open.”
The Yachtsmen increased their lead to 17 points midway through the fourth on a pair of Forcella free throws. Ray called a timeout 20 seconds later, prompting a 14-8 run by his team, but the late-game offensive surge wasn’t enough.
The Yachtsmen accomplished what they had set out to do.
“We’re a little undersized,” said Falmouth coach David Halligan Jr. “We haven’t got the great size like we have in the past, but our kids work hard and they help each other.
“(Cape is) such a strong inside team that we’ve got to try to take that away or they’ll just pound it inside and kill you all night.”
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