Cape boys’ basketball topples Wilmington Friends 56-52
The Cape boys’ basketball team’s fans got the best of both worlds during the No. 14 Vikings’ 56-52 state tournament win over No. 19 Wilmington Friends Feb. 25.
In the first half, they witnessed a dominating defensive performance. But in the second half, a thriller unfolded before Cape punched its ticket into the second round for the second year in a row.
“We got so many stops in the first half, but we couldn't score, it just put us on edge; that's what happens in the playoffs,” said Cape coach Steve Re. “It becomes harder to score, emotions run high, guys get a little bit nervous, game's a little bit tighter. It's do or die, survive and advance.”
The Vikings took an early lead in the first quarter before a pair of threes from the Quakers made it 13-12 at the end of the opening frame. Sophomore Jameson Tingle took advantage of mismatches in the paint to score eight of his 10 first-half points in the second quarter as the defense continued its stranglehold on Wilmington Friends.
“I've been trying to, especially when my team needs me to, just kill whenever I need to get my team a bucket,” Tingle said. “I'm never gonna do something that hurts the team.”
Cape allowed just two points in the second quarter to take a 25-14 lead into the locker room.
One of the highlights of the first half was a monstrous dunk from Tingle that sent the student section into a frenzy.
Sophomore Oz Batson broke a scoring drought to start the third quarter before Tingle continued to put up points. The Quakers were quick to double him, though, and Cape needed another sophomore to step up – Geordan Downing.
“If it's not there, I'm gonna kick out, and I did that to my boy, GD,” Tingle said. “When he knocked down that three ball, it was a big momentum swinger.”
Downing was asked to take on additional defensive responsibilities as a few of his teammates found themselves in foul trouble.
The sophomore is no stranger to big moments, shining on the court since his middle school days. His nine points may not have been the highest quantity on the team, but they were arguably the most quality points on the team, given their timing.
“This is my favorite type of environment I like to play in – it's loud, chaotic. And that means that it puts a lot of pressure on me, but I think I played very well through pressure moments,” Downing said. “I love games like this.”
A 43-33 Vikings lead to start the fourth slowly evaporated as the Quakers managed to take a 52-51 lead with under two minutes to go.
“We allowed them to come back in the fourth, but great teams are built on adversity, and we pushed through it,” Tingle said. “We ideally wouldn't want it to come to that, but we're just showing that we can.”
Braxton Figgs came through in a major way for the Vikings when he connected from in close to give Cape a 53-52 lead. Seconds later, following a Dame Robinson lay-up, Figgs got the ball back for the Vikings by drawing an off-ball foul. The Vikings added another point from the charity stripe to seal the 56-52 win.
“I'm proud of all of us,” Robinson said.
No. 14 Cape will play at No. 3 Seaford at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 27. A win would put the Vikings in the DIAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 when they reached the semifinals.
