Dover’s press causes problems for Cape in first meeting
A formidable full-court press from Dover put an end to any hopes the Cape boys’ basketball team had of a winning streak against the Senators after last year’s win snapped a nine-game losing streak. Dover defeated the Vikings 67-44 Dec. 19.
Cape entered the game on a three-game win streak, with one of its key players, freshman Jameson Tingle, settling into the groove of basketball following a successful football season. While Dover was playing just its second game of the year, it appeared to be in midseason form and started the game with a tenacious full-court press. The Vikings weathered the storm early on and built an early lead behind the strength of big man Jack Schell.
Three minutes into the contest, Tingle was injured while defending a drive. Coach Steve Re said it was difficult to adjust quickly to something like that.
The Senators took full advantage of Tingle’s exit and ramped up pressure to take a four-point lead at the end of one quarter, then expanded it to nine at the half.
“I didn't think they were that overwhelming. We just turned it over,” Re said. “And when you lose the turnover battle, it's hard to recover from that, especially against a team like Dover.”
Dover forced Cape into 28 turnovers during its full- and half-court press sets, aggressively utilizing traps to disrupt the Vikings at mid-court. Depth proved to be a strength for the Senators, as they were able to keep up the intensity the entire game.
“We knew we had to handle the pressure; we just didn't do a good job of it consistently. That's the key,” Re said.
One of the bright spots in the game for Cape was the down-low play of seniors Schell and Emanuel Ortiz Villaman. The former scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to go along with two steals, while the latter registered 11 points, and picked up a block and a steal.
“They beat us the first time last year, and it looked kind of ugly, but we were able to knock them off the second time. We're gonna keep getting better. I'm not gonna let us not get better,” Re said.
The team is hoping Tingle can return as quickly and safely as possible.
“He does a little bit of everything and hasn't come close to grasping everything that we're trying to do with him yet. Hopefully, we can get him healthy and get him back in. Some other guys need to step back up like they did to begin the season,” Re said.
