Gregory, Eagles outlast Cape 57-47
Senior wing Elisha Gregory poured in 21 of his 29 points in the second half to spark Smyrna to a 57-47 victory over visiting Cape Henlopen in boys’ basketball action Feb. 23.
The Vikings took a 29-28 lead into intermission and maintained their edge a minute into the third quarter, but Gregory put the Eagles on his back from there. The 6-foot-4 high-flyer scored 14 straight Smyrna points to key a 16-7 run, uncorking two fast break dunks in the process. After Majesti Carter gave the Eagles a 46-38 advantage with a lay-in early in the fourth, Cape got buckets from Drew Zimmerman and Odin Potemski to slice the deficit in half and put some late-game pressure on Smyrna. Gregory rose to meet the moment, continuing his onslaught with a 12-foot jumper from the left wing and a three-point play in the post that all but sealed the deal. Up by nine with 2:45 to play, the Eagles drained the clock and forced three key turnovers to finish off their fifth win in six games.
Senior forward Zimere Bolden and senior guard Brody Pedersen netted nine points apiece for the Vikings (8-12, 6-8 Henlopen North), who dropped their fourth consecutive contest despite a valiant effort. Cape fell behind 6-0 out of the gate, but stormed back behind inspired early play from Bolden, who scored all of his points in the first quarter. Down 20-19 after one quarter, the Vikings used a stout zone defense and two second-quarter three-pointers from Pedersen to take the lead at halftime.
Pedersen knocked down three trifectas on the night, all in the first half. Cape also got eight points, nine rebounds and four assists from Potemski, while Zimmerman tallied six points, five boards and three assists. Junior forward Dylan Fannin and senior guard Kay’von Jackson added five and four points, respectively.
The Vikings, who defeated Smyrna 48-42 on Feb. 15, looked primed to sweep the season series until their offense sputtered in the second half. Cape made just 31 percent of its field-goal tries and turned the ball over 11 times after the break.
Coach Shemik Thompson was full of positivity afterward.
“I thought we competed for most of the game,” he said. “We played well in the first half and had them by one, which I was really pleased with. In the second, we relied too much on the three and stopped being aggressive going to the hole, which is why Smyrna only had one foul for most of the half. We needed to do a better job of understanding what’s working and not working in the flow of the game, and being a little bit smarter. Smyrna came ready to play, which we expected, and I thought we competed hard with them.”
