Video: Vineyarders Defeat Norwell, Advance to Quarter Finals

The Martha’s Vineyard boys basketball team defeated a determined Norwell squad Wednesday night to win their first playoff game of the season. They advance to play Wareham in the quarter finals of the MIAA state tournament Friday night. That game will be held at 5:15 p.m. in the gymnasium.

The playoff win is just one more feather in the Vineyarders’ cap. In February, they secured the Eastern Athletic Conference title. More impressive, they have yet to lose a home game this season.

The Vineyarders, the number two seed in their division, were favored to win over Norwell. Nonetheless, the visitors put up a valiant fight to overcome Martha’s Vineyard’s strong lead at the end of the first half. At the top of the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 56.

The two teams remained neck-and-neck throughout the period, at almost all times separated by only a handful of points. But in the end—just as they have done all season—the Vineyarders turned on the speed when it mattered. The buzzard rang, the crowd went wild and the scoreboard read “Guests: 70, Home: 76.”