Oliver Ames Derails Sandwich Freight Train, Blue Knights’ Season Ends

BROCKTON – Overcome perhaps by the tumultuous, ear-splitting, screaming sea of orange Tiger faithful, the Sandwich Blue Knights saw their season come to a close last night in the City of Champions.

The 6th-seeded Oliver Ames High School boys’ basketball team (20-3) jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and never looked back, pouring in bucket upon bucket until the curtain closed on Sandwich High’s 21-2 campaign in a 72-62 deficit. The Blue Knights rode the wave of a 19-game winning streak as far as it would take them.

Sandwich High junior forward Andrew Galanek netted a team-high 20 points on the night but it was not enough as the Blue Knights were eliminated from the postseason by Oliver Ames, 72-62. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Sandwich High junior forward Andrew Galanek netted a team-high 20 points on the night but it was not enough as the Blue Knights were eliminated from the postseason by Oliver Ames, 72-62.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

There would be no Joey Downes magic show last night. There would be no heroic comeback. The clock struck midnight on this miraculous, Atlantic Coast League championship season for the East Sandwich Five and it came like an undertaker hammering one ice-cold steel nail at a time.

Those nails could be likened to the synchronized, smooth-as-silk shots of Oliver Ames’ seniors Ryan Carney and captain Chris Kyne. Carney finished the night with 24 points, while Kyne seemed incapable of missing with 21 points. Kyne shot 9-13 on the night, while Carney drilled four three-pointers, including three daggers in the Blue Knights’ collective hearts in the third quarter.

Downes finished with 14 points on the night, but truthfully found it difficult to garner any kind of a rhythm. Hank O’Brien netted 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to finish his season, and career, with yet another hard-earned double-double. Fellow co-captain Scotty Reels, whose four timely three-pointers almost seemed to keep the Blue Knights’ postseason dreams alive, finished with 14 points.

But it was Sandwich junior forward Andrew Galanek who exhibited a type of heart and athleticism that can neither be taught nor purchased as he dumped in a team-high, crowd-uplifting 20 points on the evening. As always, Galanek was all over the floor and smooth as baby powder beneath the rim. Still, it was not enough to tame the Tigers.

The Blue Knights – whose entire starting five was selected to the Annual Cape & Islands Basketball All-Star Game coming up later this month – had climbed back to within just one point – 17-16 – as time was set to expire in the first quarter. It was Carney, though, who tossed a grenade on Sandwich’s gutsy comeback as he dropped his first of four bombs on the night just two seconds before the buzzer sounded to end the first frame.

The 20-16 first-quarter lead for Oliver Ames spelled a world of difference in terms of momentum, inspiration and collective self-confidence.

By the end of the first half, the Tigers doubled their first quarter lead to an eight-point margin, 37-29 and fans seemed unsure if a second-half comeback was in the making.

Sandwich High senior co-captain Joey Downes finished his career with nearly 2,000 lifetime points and led his Blue Knights to a school record 21-2 campaign. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Sandwich High senior co-captain Joey Downes finished his career with nearly 2,000 lifetime points and led his Blue Knights to a school record 21-2 campaign.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Unfortunately, it was not, for the Blue Knights.

Oliver Ames continued its torrid offensive scoring by almost doubling its lead once more to a 59-44, 15-point advantage by the end of the third frame. Carney was responsible for 11 of his team’s 22 third-quarter points.

Yes, Sandwich did outscore Oliver Ames in a valiant fourth-quarter attempt, 16-11, but it was an attempt that came too late. There simply had been too many misses and not enough defensive stops throughout the game for Sandwich to make any kind of a true dent in the rolling Tiger tide.

All totaled, Sandwich shot 22-56 (39.29%) from the field throughout the game and went 11-26 (42.31%) in the second half. Unfortunately, the Blue Knights’ “go-to” money man, Downes, could not get into the flow and shot 4-19.

The Blue Knights had a chance in this one, though, as time waned in the fourth frame. With just 1;06 left in the game, Downes pulled his socks up tight and nailed three fouls shots to bring the score to 68-62 and there was an idea that the infamous Sandwich Heroics Switch was about to get turned on.

Not so, said the Tigers’ co-captain Kyne who tacked on a pair of quick buckets to make it 72-62 as time ran out.

Oliver Ames’ Rael Handy added 10 points to the Tigers’ effort.

The 21-2 Sandwich campaign was the best win-loss record in boys’ basketball in school history.

— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm

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