BOSTON — The Barnstable High boys’ basketball team (8-13) came out in low gear and could never quite catch up to the running and gunning Raiders of West Roxbury Academy Monday night in Boston.
The host Raiders (13-7) defeated the visiting Red Raiders, 83-69, in front of a sparse albeit supportive crowd thanks in large part to a 34-point night from senior Tysaul Horton.
Barnstable High’s Will O’Day (3) and Keyshawn Eddy (5) try to block the lane from West Roxbury’s Javonte Currin (2) in Monday night’s 83-69 tourney loss by the Red Raiders.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Horton’s most productive quarter in this MIAA Division 1 South preliminary round match-up came in the fourth frame when he netted 13 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line. He went 11-15 from the stripe in the final frame as Barnstable ran into serious, double-bonus foul trouble. Barnstable seniors Deon Bell and Elijah Baptiste both fouled out in the fourth quarter, even though Bell had relatively little time on the floor and took just one shot on the night – a three-pointer he made in the second quarter.
Baptiste finished with 18 points, but it was senior Keyshawn Eddy who put on a spectacular, gutsy display in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 of his 23 points. Eddy drilled a pair of downtown three’s, went 6-9 from the foul line and and hit three buckets underneath off of offensive rebounds but therein was the trouble for Barnstable all night.
Rebounding.
Combined with 20 turnovers, Barnstable pulled down just 14 rebounds in the game as the hosts were relentless in the paint and more often than not one man won against three down low.
Barnstable went 12-17 from the line for the entire game while the hosts went 29-33. To give you an idea of how often the whistle was blown against the guests, the tone was set when the whistle was blown on the first layup taken by West Roxbury off the opening tip-off.
West Roxbury senior Javonte Currin nailed three three-pointers (the first three he took) and totaled 18 points which was matched by teammate Tyree Gross, the Raiders’ senior captain.
“In the playoffs, those issues that cost you during the season will take you down,” Barnstable head coach Chuck Kipnes said. “(We had a) slow start. Terrible defense by starters giving up offensive boards. That won’t get it done.”
Barnstable High’s Tavian Miranda (10) tries to block the shot of West Roxbury’s Javonte Currin who had 18 points. Red Raider Eric Holzman wheels around for the rebound.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Barnstable was down 20-8 after the first quarter and by halftime the score was 38-26. That lead expanded in the third quarter to 55-42, but late in the fourth quarter the guests actually whittled that lead down to 10 with enough time to catch up.
But playing catch-up against a hot-shooting team on their home court, combined with double-bonus foul trouble, is a tough mountain to climb.
“I feel bad for the seniors and I’m proud of Keyshawn (Eddy), but you can’t turn it on and turn it off,” Kipnes said.
Junior forward Eric Holzman was the sole other Red Raider in the double digits with an exceptionally hard-earned 12 points in the paint.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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