Monomoy Boys Snap Skid Against Nauset, Fall In Winter Fest Final

HARWICH – The Sharks were one win away from hoisting a tournament title on their home court. 

 After eking out a 47-44 overtime victory over Nauset on Saturday, the Monomoy boys basketball team suffered a 48-36 loss to Plymouth South on Monday afternoon in the Winter Fest Tournament championship game. 

 Although the Sharks hung tough during the second half, the Panthers, who entered the weekend ranked seventh in the MIAA Division 2 power rankings, pulled away in the third quarter after making all seven foul shots they attempted in the frame. 

“I felt like a couple of their guys, especially [Logan Volkringer], were able to get to the hoop in the third quarter and we were fouling,” Monomoy coach John McCarthy said. “Other than that, our defense was on point. We were flying around.

“They are a highly-ranked team and we knew we were kind of facing a version of ourselves — we both don’t have a lot of size, but we play with a lot of heart. It was a matchup of heart and defense.”

Volkringer was crowned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after leading Plymouth South (16-4) with a team-high 18 points. The sophomore was at his best during the third quarter, scoring nine points in the frame including going five-for-five from the foul line. 

Senior Jackson Rocco was named a tournament All Star after leading the Sharks (6-13) with a game-high 23 points. His classmate, Jackson Morneau, added seven points, five of which came during the first eight minutes to help Monomoy build an 11-9 lead by the end of the opening quarter.

The loss marked what will likely be the final home game for Rocco, Morneau, and fellow seniors Braden Burke, Finn Hyora, Jarrett Morneau and Zach Vagenas. 

“They’ve been playing together since fourth grade,” McCarthy said of the seniors. “Some of them have been playing [varsity] since freshman year. This group of seniors is special and they work hard.”

Monday’s championship appearance wouldn’t have been possible without the program’s first win over Nauset since the 2019-20 team earned a 59-53 victory in December 2019. 

“It’s been a while since we beat Nauset, so getting that off our back and having these seniors finish their last game against Nauset with a win after having many years of struggling for that one means a lot,” McCarthy said. “That could be looked at as getting over a little hump of having Nauset be that team that always beats us. It was pretty important for us.”

McCarthy noted that even after Monday’s loss, the Sharks’ confidence is high heading into the team’s regular-season finale at Nantucket at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The team entered the weekend ranked No. 31 in the Division 4 power rankings, and McCarthy is hopeful a win over the Whalers could punch the team’s ticket to the postseason.

 “If we win, I think it will get us enough points to solidify getting in,” the coach said. “If we lose, I’m not sure, but I think these seniors deserve one more crack at the playoffs and that’s our goal heading into Wednesday night.”