Class A boys’ basketball final: Falmouth frustrates Oceanside

PORTLAND — There is defense, there is good defense, and there is ridiculously, historically great defense.

Falmouth fell into the final category on Saturday and won the Class A boys’ basketball championship in a breeze, 59-28, over Oceanside of Rockland.

Four Yachtsmen scored in double figures, but Falmouth (18-4) hoisted its sixth Gold Ball and first in ‘A’ by flexing its defensive muscles.

Oceanside (16-6) scored three points in the first quarter, eight in the half and shot 21.7 percent in its first finals appearance as a consolidated school.

“We played great defense all tournament long,” Falmouth coach Dave Halligan said. “Our first game against Westbrook, I think they had two points in the first quarter, and against Brunswick we gave up two in the first quarter. We came out tonight with a good first quarter here, and it set the tone for us and boosted our confidence.”

Maine Mr. Basketball finalist Thomas Coyne led Falmouth with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. His brother, Colin, a junior, added 11 points.

Falmouth made Oceanside pay for its rapt attention to the talented backcourt brethren with big days from its big men. Matt Wulbrecht scored 14 points. Sam Skop provided 10 along with three blocked shots in the opening quarter.

“They’ve come a long way,” Thomas Coyne said. “If people are going to key on me and Colin, we trust our big guys to make plays. They did that throughout the tournament.”

Thomas Coyne finished his career the way he started it as a freshman. Falmouth captured the Class B title in 2013.

The Mariners shattered the Class A North record for most 3-pointers in the regional tournament at Augusta Civic Center. In the unfamiliar CIA setting, they hit only one until the third quarter and went 5-for-20 overall.

Riley Sprague topped Oceanside with six points. Keenan Hendricks, Sam Atwood and Nate Raye each added five.

It was the lowest team point total in a Class A final since Millinocket mustered 23 in 1950.

“I think that might have been of our greatest defensive games,” Skop said. “We watched a lot of film on them to learn about their offense, and I think we executed perfectly.”

Falmouth answered Hendricks’ NBA-range bomb with 11 consecutive points to cap the first quarter with a 15-3 lead.

Colin Coyne christened the march with a 3-pointer. One of Skop’s swats set up a Thomas Coyne feed to Wulbrecht for an easy bucket.

“They were a very good five seed. They beat Hampden,” Colin Coyne said. “We knew that having a hot start was crucial to win this game. We started hot, they didn’t start so hot, and we just took advantage of it.”

Raye was the only Mariner to score in the second quarter.

Even without much offensive success of its own, Falmouth extended the halftime lead to 23-8 on a short jumper by Sean Walsh, a Skop 3-point play and a backdoor layup for Thomas Coyne courtesy of his brother.

The Coynes combined for nine points in the decisive half. Skop scored eight.

“That’s the way it’s been through all the tournament,” Halligan said. “If they’re going to take something away, we’re going to make them pay, and we did. We shared the ball, got it to the open man, and good things happened for us.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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