Coming at you in Waves

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A quick glance at the Abington boys basketball roster shows there is only one underclassmen. The remaining 12 players are all suiting up each night for one of the final times in their careers. With the end coming for a group that’s played together and been successful since the fourth grade, the sense of urgency has been there every night of late, in an effort to have a truly special season.

The results have shown in the record, now at 11-0, and in particular the way they have dismantled opponents in the South Shore League. Only Norwell stayed within single digits.

“They’re seniors and they see the end as near, it’s going on three years for some of them,” Abington head coach Don Byron said. “We just keep drilling them on 32 minutes of full effort.”

Following the win over Norwell two weeks ago the Green Wave hosted Mashpee. For the first four minutes things were not looking good, and it appeared there was a bit of a hangover from the emotional Norwell victory. Byron noted the early going might have been as bad as any four minutes he’s had. They were down 12-0 before they knew it.

They were flummoxed a bit by the 1-2-2-zone the Falcons played, despite working on it extensively in practice. But after a timeout a totally different team showed up.

“We turned it right around, it was like someone flipped a switch,” Byron said.

The Green Wave closed the remainder of the first half on a 43-14 run, and cruised to a 16-point half time lead. The second half saw much of the same as Abington wound up winning 69-50. Tim Wells led the way with 17 points, while Matt McClean added 12 points off the bench.

Two nights later was a laugher with East Bridgewater as Byron was able to get all 13 players significant minutes, in the first half, en route to a 43-14 lead at the break.

James Kalianiotis led the way with 11 points, while John Creamer added nine. Steve Wakelin scored eight, Tim Kurowski added seven and Mike Caseley chipped in with six.

The balanced scoring is a good sign for the road ahead, and it helps to get as many people involved as possible. The deeper this team can go the more problems it presents for future opponents.

This squad is by far the deepest team Byron has ever had in his 11 years in Abington. It’s not uncommon to see 10 or 12 players get onto the floor in even a close game.

It’s been his biggest challenge getting kids minutes, because they all deserve significant time.

“We can go big, go small, it’s nice to have options,” Byron said.

Last week was a trip to Carver, and in the early going it was another back and forth affair. Abington got out to a 39-27 halftime lead, but the team went into a bit of a funk in the second half as the Crusaders were able to get the deficit down to three.

With 2:30 left Abington was up seven and in a tenuous spot, but as is often the case with a senior dominated group it turned it on down the stretch. The Green Wave scored the final nine points of the game en route a 71-55 win.

“It looked a lot more comfortable than it was,” Byron said.

Wells led the way with 21, closely followed by Kalianiotis with 20. Kristian LaPointe and Ronny Dunn each scored 11.

Defensively Abington was able to hold the South Shore League’s leading scorer Rich King to just 13 points, eight below his average. Wells, Kalianiotis and LaPointe all took turns on him and slowly wearing him down.

The maturation of the lone underclassmen, in LaPointe has continued nicely and was definitely evident in the Carver win.

“It just continues, every week he looks a little better,” Byron said.

On the break he’s nearly impossible to catch from behind with his speed, and that speed poses problems for opposing point guards to get their offenses started when he’s on the ball defensively.

Last Friday night the first of the Green Wave’s annual goals was reached as the qualified for the state tournament for the seventh straight year, and ninth time in 11 years.

It was another laugher this time against Harwich in a 78-42 win. Wells, Lapointe, and Dunn each scored 14 to lead the way, while Caseley added nine.

Dunn also chipped in with 12 rebounds in just 14 minutes of play. After getting off to a slow start with a knee injury sustained in football he is starting to come around again and be the force he was last year.

The difference is this year, with the emergence of the deep bench he isn’t being asked to play 28-30 minutes a game this year. With McClean, Kurowski and Keith Earner spelling him, he’s been able to work his way back a lot easier.

Tuesday night, third place Hull was the destination as the South Shore League schedule turned over again. The trip down the coast hasn’t always been a good one to Abington, and in the opening half the Pirates came out ready to play, looking to exact a little revenge after the beating they took in the season opener.

Abington was able to weather the storm a bit and hold on to a three-point lead heading into halftime at 34-31.

Much like the Mashpee game, the second half saw a different Green Wave come out of the locker room.

With LaPointe in foul trouble the Wells had to move to the point, and he turned it on. 

A pair of steals led to easy buckets, and he came up with a big three as Abington raced out on a mammoth 40-16 second half run to win going away 74-47.

Wells finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals to lead the Green Wave. Dunn added 10 points and 11 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. Tom Martin chipped in with 10 points as well.

The leading scorer was Kalianiotis, who has really come on of late providing deadly shooting from beyond the arc. It’s his play that really marks this team because while Dunn and Wells get constant accolades he continues to put up big numbers and force opponents to key on him as well.

“He shoots with a lot confidence, everything looks good when it leaves his hand,” Byron said. “He sometimes gets lost in the mix but he’s an important piece for us.”

Tonight the Green Wave take on last place Cohasset in a tune-up before Tuesday night’s second showdown with Norwell, at home at 6:30 p.m.