Cape boys’ basketball falls to Caesar Rodney 69-60
Coming into its Dec. 13 matchup with unbeaten and unchallenged Caesar Rodney, the Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball team had plenty of reasons to be pessimistic. The Vikings were coming off an uninspired performance at Sussex Tech that saw them shoot just 34 percent from the floor and give up 22 offensive rebounds in a 12-point setback. The Riders, meanwhile, had used a suffocating press to blow out their first three opponents by an average of 38 points, including a 40-point drubbing of Tech. The associative property predicted a long night for Cape.
Instead, the Vikings defied the numbers and stepped up to their competition, giving CR its stiffest challenge of the season in a 69-60 setback.
“I’m proud,” Cape coach Shemik Thompson said after his team outscored the Riders 34-26 after intermission. “We gave tremendous effort in the second half. We went from playing a style that’s not conducive to winning to executing, getting the ball up the floor, being aggressive, attacking the basket, [and] not settling for the outside shot. I’m very proud of the effort we gave in that second half.”
Junior guard Ja’Vaughn Burton posted career highs of 23 points and nine steals to lead the way for Cape (1-2, 1-2 Henlopen North), which played inspired basketball to trim an 18-point third-quarter deficit to as little as eight and put a scare into the Riders. The Vikings also got 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting from senior wing Sh’Kai Chandler and a nine-point, 12-rebound night from senior guard Kris Rushin.
The Vikings fell behind 29-16 after one quarter and trailed 43-26 at the break despite 14 first-half points from Chandler. CR looked well on its way to another mercy-rule win, but Cape seized the momentum from there by consistently pushing the pace and penetrating. Burton poured in eight points during a 12-2 Cape run midway through the third frame, cutting the deficit to 48-40 on a 10-footer from the baseline. That shot forced a timeout from the Riders and brought a vociferous Cape crowd to its feet.
The Vikings couldn’t quite complete the comeback, as Caesar Rodney made timely buckets throughout the final period to stifle the rally. That didn’t much bother Burton, who saw significant growth from his team.
“This might be an L, but I take it as a win,” Burton said. “We had more energy this game. We played together, we got the ball up the court, and we attacked. It worked for us. We played great on defense – we helped, we talked.”
Thompson wished his team never had to make up ground in the first place.
“We didn’t come out [in the first half] and execute properly,” Thompson said. “We just have to be more consistent. I’ve been telling our guys that we can’t play for one quarter and play catch-up for the other three. We can’t play well for one half after falling behind. We have to be consistent for all four quarters.”
Senior forward Kamal Marvel paced Caesar Rodney (4-0, 4-0 Henlopen North) with 21 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Syed Myles chipped in with 12 points.
The game was a track meet from the tip, leading to some sloppy play at both ends and 23 turnovers from each side. Neither team shot particularly well, with the Vikings matching the Riders at 34 percent from the floor.
Cape will return to action Thursday, Dec. 19, when the Vikings host Lake Forest.
