Delmarva Christian stifles Seahawks in boys’ basketball battle of neighbors
Wrapping up the first week of the season undefeated with a 59-17 win over local rival Sussex Academy, the Delmarva Christian boys’ basketball team seems locked in early.
“It's always fun to get a win, you know?” said senior Kasey Bell. “Usually, if we play good defense, we can score the ball; then that’s all we’ve got to worry about – just getting physical, being there for our teammates.”
Locked 3-3 for the first couple of minutes, the Royals went on a 15-point run and ended the quarter with a 23-6 lead thanks to nine points from senior Malachi Light and eight from freshman Darrius Liles.
“We were knocking down shots; that was the key,” Bell said. “We were finding guys that were open, getting great shots, and then were knocking them down.”
A much more mild second quarter resulted in a 32-9 halftime lead for Delmarva Christian that expanded to 45-14 before the final quarter.
“I think you can tell sometimes what kind of team you have by how well they play after success; are they going to grow?” said Royals coach Marc Hannah. “They came out; they played hard.”
Surrendering only three points in the fourth, the Royals completed the mission with a 59-17 victory, getting depth players valuable minutes.
“We wanted to get out to get our guys chances coming off the bench, leading to some time and some experience for them, and then we also want to put them away,” Bell said. “You don't want to let them hang around too much, just finish the final blow.”
One of the players who made the most of his minutes was center/forward Andrew Collins. He displayed grace inside and a knack for getting the young Seahawks off their feet or in his shooting radius on his way to seven points.
“He's big. He's got quick, quick feet. He works very hard. I don't know if we have had a guy with that big of a presence inside, and he's getting better every week,” Hannah said. “He's going to be a big part of what we do this year.”
