Cape’s Finn Bowe found a hot hand in the second quarter at the Portland Expo on Saturday the 13th, shifting his team into overdrive against the Wildcats. Bowe added 11 in the stretch and finished with 19 as the Capers notched a quarterfinals W over York, 59-43.
“We know them, they know us,” said Cape head coach Jim Ray of the Wildcats. “It was going to be a grind because they play tough.”
The Capers actually began the game lukewarm, falling behind 12-6 in the first. Ray called timeout, and evidently yanked his boys’ heads from the sand, because after that they only picked up steam. They closed the first with two Nate Ingalls frees, shrinking their deficit to 12-10, and began the second with a Marcus Donnelly three to seize the upper-hand 13-12. It was the last lead change of the game.
“We were lucky to get a little momentum in the first half – Finn hit a couple threes, which gave us a little cushion,” said Ray. “We would’ve liked to have attacked the rim a little bit better than we did; he hit those, and word was, when they took timeout, ‘Now let’s attack the rim.’”
Ray said his boys needed to improve their attack on the rim in coming matchups. Similarly, he said his boys were “probably about a C-plus” on defense, overall. “It’s going to have to be a lot better, next round.”
In the first quarter, Bowe tried to find a groove, but his initial three-point attempts missed their mark. He didn’t write himself off, though, and eventually got where he needed to be.
“Coach just always says to me, ‘Keep shooting,’” Bowe said. “I think I forced a few too many shots to start. I think my nerves took over and I tried to do too much with the ball. In the second quarter, my teammates really helped me set up for shots. They’re always supportive, telling me to keep shooting, not worry about it.
“Then I got a few to fall, which helped out a lot.”
“We just had to settle our nerves down,” Bowe said. “Once we did that, we could play our game. We got on transition more, we finished around the hoop. I think once we started attacking the rim and kicking it out to shooters – and locking down our defense – that’s what really helped.”
In addition to Bowe’s 19, Donnelly finished with 12. Marshall Peterson tallied six, and Justin Guerette five.
Cape entered the postseason ranked third in A South, at 14-4; the win versus York bumps them to 15-4. They faced off with No. 2 Falmouth in the semifinals on Wednesday the 17th, after the Current’s print deadline.
Cape’s Finn Bowe lofts up a jumper versus York on Saturday.
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