Jan. 25 was a day Delmarva Christian School students were clad in pink and donning shirts featuring Ashlee McCoy’s portrait or her No. 50 to honor the late 2016 graduate.
“I know how important this night was for our Delmarva Christian community. Coming out with a win meant a lot for all of us,” senior Xavier Efford said.
During the nightcap of a doubleheader against Salisbury Christian School, the Delmarva Christian boys’ basketball team capped off a day dedicated to McCoy by playing championship ball to honor the late member of back-to-back ESIAC championship teams.
“The thing for us was that we just wanted to play well. I wasn’t worried about the score because the last time we played them, we didn't play well. I think getting our legs back and our energy back is a good thing for us,” said head coach Marc Hannah.
Reminiscent of the girls’ 27-1 first quarter in the previous game, the boys relied on aggressive defense to win the second quarter 21-2 and take a 37-9 lead heading into the half. While it was a team effort, Efford led the way in forcing turnovers that generated easy looks for himself and his Royals teammates.
“The key for us was defense. The last time we played them, we beat them but we didn’t do as good on defense. We held them under 30 points, and our rotation on defense was good and our energy helped us win the game tonight,” Efford said.
Leading Delmarva Christian with 13 points, Efford was joined by fellow seniors Mason Bohinski with 11 and Edward Higgins with 10 scoring in double figures.
Continuing their strong play in the second half, Delmarva Christian rolled to a 62-19 win over Salisbury Christian to remain undefeated in ESIAC play. Hannah was pleased with not only the defense but the approach on offense as well. He said that while it’s good to get threes, those can be hard buckets sometimes, and he likes seeing his team turn down threes in favor of closer shots that also make offensive boards a bit easier.
“I was really proud of our guys; they did everything we asked them to do today,” Hannah said.
St. Mark’s
Delmarva Christian welcomed a red-hot St. Mark’s squad to Georgetown Sat. Jan. 27. Winners of their last five, by an average of more than 25 points, the Spartans continued their winning ways against the Royals with a 68-37 victory. Delmarva Christian travels to St. Elizabeth Jan. 29 and will have three days of practice before they travel to Chase Fieldhouse to take on Delaware Military Academy.