Red Raiders Win Nailbiter Versus Archrival Clippers

More than often in most hectic situations, cooler heads prevail.

And so it was for the unbeaten Barnstable High School boys basketball team (3-0) last night at Falmouth High School, as the Red Raiders came from behind to take the lead and hold onto it late in the fourth quarter in a 46-45 thriller.

A baseline jumper by Falmouth's Kyle Kasprzyk and an attempted bank shot by Deven Soares in the game's final seconds could have captured a buzzer-beating win for the host Clippers, but both shots missed the mark and Barnstable held on to win.

BHS junior Jason Eddy scored a career-high 16 points on the night, six points of which came in a frenzied late fourth quarter, thanks to assists from Jake Kipnes and Nick Peabody. The victory also marked Eddy's first-ever varsity double-double as he reeled in 10 rebounds. BHS senior captain Charlie Rice was also instrumental in the win, pouring in 13 points and grabbing 7 boards.

Senior Travis Kendrew hit his first pair of three-pointers on the season and finished the night with eight points, including a lay-up in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 42-42 mere seconds after Eddy knotted it at 40-40 with a pretty steal and layup.

But it was Rice's eight-foot jumper with time waning that gave BHS all it would need to take home the win.

At the outset of the game, though, things did not look promising for the usually high-scoring Red & White, as Kasprzyk went on a virtual tear, scoring eight first quarter points and pacing the Clippers to a 9-0 early lead and then a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Barnstable narrowed Falmouth's lead down to six points at the half, as Falmouth remained ahead 31-25. The Clippers maintained a similar margin after three quarters, still leading the visitors, 38-33, but it was Eddy's quick-maneuvering, combined with a sort of symbiotic rapport with teammate Kipnes that quickly erased Falmouth's lead and turned the momentum of the game.

Down 40-34, Eddy stole the ball, dished it to Kipnes who missed a layup, but Eddy was right on Kipnes' heels for the rebound and the put back. A subsequent steal by Eddy and layup brought the Barnstable fans to their collective feet as Falmouth called time out with 3:40 left and the score knotted at 40-40.

Falmouth speed demon Andrew McGill then tore full speed down court to put Falmouth ahead, 42-40, but Kendrew found the bucket underneath to tie it at 42-42. An 8-foot Peabody fall-away made it 44-44, but then McGill took a hard foul from Rice to head to the charity stripe; he missed both and Barnstable never looked back after Rice found nothing but the bottom of the net on an 8-foot jumper.

The Red Raiders next head to Durfee for the Durfee Holiday Tournament.