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Falmouth pulls away from Cape

By MARK JEANNERET, Special to the Press Herald Friday, December 7, 2012

CAPE ELIZABETH — Jack Simonds and his Falmouth High teammates were intent on making a statement on opening night Friday.

"We lost all five of our starters from last year so we thought we´d come back and prove a point that Falmouth basketball was still going to be around," Simonds said after scoring a game-high 22 points in a 72-49 victory against Cape Elizabeth in a Western Maine Conference game.

"It was disappointing to lose against Yarmouth last year (in the Western Class B final) so we´re kind of playing with an edge to try to get back there again this year. It all starts with the first game."

Simonds was front-and-center in the victory, and played a significant role in three stretches that decided it.

Simonds, a 6-foot-5 forward, drained the final five points in an 11-2 run late in the opening quarter that gave the Yachtsmen an 18-9 lead after one.

Cape answered to start the second period with what turned out to be its only dominant stretch. Chris Robicheaw started an 11-2 run with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Two minutes into the period, Cape Elizabeth had tied it, 20-20.

Falmouth leaned on its experience and depth, and didn´t show a moment of concern.

Simonds started an immediate answer to Cape´s threat with the first four points of a 17-3 run that carried the Yachtsmen into the half with a comfortable 37-23 advantage.

"We had a good lead but then we turned the ball over and rushed it," said Simonds. "Once we set our offense back up, we got back up and didn´t look back from there."

Simonds helped to all but finish off the Capers with eight more points in a 13-2 third-quarter surge that put the Yachtsmen ahead 52-30.

"Simonds is a special one and he´s just a sophomore," said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan.

"Sometimes you expect big things from big kids but you have to remember he´s still 14 years old. I think he built his confidence during the course of last season, and because of his basketball IQ and his basketball experience, he was a tremendous help to us in the tournament. He´s built off of that."

Grant Burfeind added 15 points and Justin Rogers chipped in 10 for Falmouth.

The game proved an early eye-opener for Cape.

The Capers were expecting a rebound-type campaign this year after a down season a year ago.

"We have some growing pains and a lot of little things, like how we carry ourselves when we´re faced with adversity," said Cape Coach Jim Ray.

"When we came back and tied it you didn´t see a different demeanor in Falmouth because they believe. When the momentum shifted in the other direction, there was a change in our demeanor and it looked like we were beat in the second quarter."

Henry Babcock, Ethan Murphy and Robicheaw each scored 11 for the Capers.