Sussex Academy boys’ basketball falls short at Worcester Prep

It’s not how you start, but how you finish.

While the Sussex Academy boys’ basketball team enjoyed an early lead in its Jan. 15 contest at Worcester Prep, the lads found themselves down 39-21 to start the fourth quarter. Sick of that losing feeling, according to coach Brad Leinbach, the team rallied around the youngest players to nearly eliminate an 18-point deficit. Although they fell 46-43, the Seahawks believe there were a lot of positives.

“We did everything we could. We started scoring in the second half; we had drive, and even on our timeouts, we were screaming because we were ready,” said freshman Rico Nock. “We learn from these losses.”

Nock led his team with 19 points, scoring 10 in the fourth-quarter comeback attempt.

“Rico got it rolling; he's a good jump shooter, and he's got a nice three-point shot,” Leinbach said.

With under 20 seconds to go, Nock drained a big three to bring the Seahawks within two, 45-43. A foul led to Worcester Prep tacking on another point before Sussex Academy got the ball with 6.5 seconds remaining.

“We executed a great play later in the game, and then on the final play of the game, our execution was a little off, but you can't fault that,” Leinbach said. “They gave effort and really wanted it.”

Nock penetrated deep and got to a spot where he was being regularly fouled, but the Mallards held off, and the missed layup ended the game.

Leading up to the final moments, Tate Sickler shared the court with Nock, Farmar Amisial, Mason Glover and Tyler Jarrell during their 20-3 run to get the Seahawks within striking distance.

“Tate brings a bit of energy, and also, ball handling-wise, he brings a sense of calmness, and some of our careless mistakes went away,” Leinbach said of the fourth-quarter performance.

The 46-43 loss was Sussex Academy’s second in as many nights, as the squad lost to Woodbridge the day before.