If Jim Ray is right, and the Cape Elizabeth boys basketball team’s offense really is in the midst of a slump, then things could get mighty interesting in Caperland come early March.

That’s assuming of course that Ray, the head coach, and his players can eventually remedy the sputtering offense.

For the time being, they’re still managing to win in spite of their woes, and that’s a good sign. The most recent victim was Freeport, who Cape beat 46-41 on the road Friday for a fourth straight win and an overall 11-2 mark.

Ray knows his team’s potential, so he wasn’t all that impressed – even though, at 9-3, the Falcons are right in the thick of things in Western Class B.

“We’re not attacking the basket, and we should be able to attack the basket against that kind of defense: them extending their pressure,” he said. “Obviously, everybody’s giving Joe (Geoghegan) a little more attention, but other guys have got to play their roles. And we’ve got to start developing the trust in the other guys if it’s ever going to loosen up on Joe inside.”

Geoghegan (17 points) won his inside battle with Freeport’s Danny Mehler, but, still, he knows that some changes need to be made.

“We just have people standing around too much,” he said. “It’s kind of stagnant and there’s not quite enough movement, but it’s something we’ve been working on and hopefully we’ll be able to have the same inside game with people moving outside and we’ll be a tough team to beat.

“I’d say offensively is where we’re looking to improve the most.”

The Capers used defense to build a 13-10 first quarter lead. They forced six turnovers and got baskets from seniors Geoghegan and Liam O’Shea (12 points), as well as sophomore forward Shaine Burks.

Burks could be a key cog for the Capers. He said he has improved as the season has gone on because, at practice, he is forced to compete against bigger and stronger guys like Geoghegan, O’Shea and senior forward Matt Allen.

“If I’m going to work against these guys who are bigger – and a lot of the guys we play are smaller – I should be getting rebounds, if I’m trying to get rebounds against these guys,” said Burks, who finished the game with nine points. “So, me going against these guys makes it easier for me in the actual game.”

In the second quarter, Burks extended the Capers’ lead to 23-13 with four points in a one-minute span. He crashed the boards for a tip-in and later knocked down a pair of free throws.

“I know that whenever (Joe) is getting double-teamed there’s always someone open, and I’m always sitting on the block because that’s my position,” said the second-year forward.

Burks had two more put-back buckets in the third, but the Falcons cut down on their turnovers and began narrowing the seven-point gap (25-18) that existed at the beginning of the quarter.

A Mehler jumper got the score to 29-24, and two minutes later Alex Standen hit two free throws to pull Freeport within three.

“In the first half, I thought their defense took us out of our offense. They made us hurry. We rushed shots and we turned the ball over,” said Freeport coach Craig Sickels. “We had 12 turnovers in the first half, and we gave up 11 offensive rebounds.

“So, now we go out in the second half, we tighten up a little bit, come with a little more energy, a little more mental concentration, and we turn the ball over three times on two charges and a travel. So, we tighten up, don’t throw the ball away, and I think we only gave up four offensive rebounds in the second half.”

Thirty seconds into the fourth quarter, the Falcons had pulled to within a point on two more free throws by Standen.

But the Capers responded with a mini, five-point run that made it 40-34 with four minutes to play. Geoghegan hit a leaner in the paint and then knocked down the ensuing foul shot to provide the six-point cushion.

The Falcons got it to 42-41, but the big man came up big again, converting an inside lay-up on a pass from O’Shea.

“We’re surviving,” said Ray, “just barely.”

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