Swarming defense and clutch shooting carried Cape Elizabeth to a 56-31 victory Monday against Windham in the opening round of the this year’s Maine Mall Holiday Classic at the Portland Expo.
“We are the type of team that tries to feed off our defense,” said Capers coach Jim Ray.
Neither team was able to get much going early as the first half was a defensive struggle. This couldn’t have been more evident when, with 2:13 remaining in the opening quarter, Cape forward Shane Burks came out of nowhere to block a three-point attempt by Windham’s Collin Atkinson.
Throughout the first half, scoring was scarce and both teams were playing tough defense. Although the Eagles were able to hold their own on the boards, Windham coach Kevin Millington was still searching for more.
“We played well the first half, but we just couldn’t score,” he said. “We missed some foul shots and some lay-ups. We could have been up by 10 at the half.”
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively, and the first half ended with the game tied, 14-14.
In the second half the Capers created more offensive opportunities off their full-court press. Ray said that his team had “more energy.”
“Liam (O’Shea) had some perimeter shots that helped and Matt Allen had some nice passes in the paint,” the coach said. “We were able to get something going and that put pressure on them to get something going.”
The game continued to be tight until the O’Shea, a senior forward, made three straight shots from beyond the arc – first with 5:35 left in the third quarter, then two minutes later and finally toward the end of the period.
O’Shea could have added to his total but he left the game limping midway through the final quarter and didn’t return.
“They hit a couple threes and that’s hard to come back against in a low scoring game,” said Millington.
After O’Shea’s spark, Cape was able to force some turnovers and add to their lead. O’Shea’s teammates continued their pressure in the fourth quarter, ending the game on a 12-0 run.
Windham’s T.J. Tandberg, who had nine points, felt that the Cape defense made the difference.
“(Eagles’ center Will) Clemmer was able to control the defensive boards in the first half and the whole team helped him in the second,” the junior guard said. “We controlled the boards but they beat us with their defensive pressure.”
Ray was pleased with the way his team implemented their defense.
“We are trying to learn the full-court press,” he said, “and that’s why we stuck with it.”
On a night where scoring was not that easy, Allen led Cape with 13 points, while Shane Burks and Joe Geoghegan each added 12. Clemmer led Windham with 10.
Both teams are scheduled to play again in the tournament, which concludes on Thursday.
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