Vikings use big second and third quarters to run past Riders
The Cape boys’ basketball team will head into the holiday break 3-1 after dismantling Caesar Rodney 63-44 Dec. 19 at home.
The Vikings led by just one, 9-8, after the first quarter, as the Riders forced errors from the home team early.
“It's difficult to play against teams that force that kind of style, and it's hard to sometimes keep the guys focused enough to value the possessions,” said Cape coach Steve Re. “When the ball is turned over at such a high rate, it gets us going too fast, and sometimes we turn it back over from moving too fast, but overall, we settled in pretty well.”
“We were playing sloppy, so after the first quarter, we really had to dial back in to play Cape basketball – slow it down,” said Cape sophomore Jameson Tingle. “They were trying to speed us up, [but] we had to slow it down, start playing good offense, [have] good possessions and build the lead.”
Playing their brand of basketball, Cape led 37-21 going into the half. Dame Robinson led the Vikings with 13 points at the half, slotting just ahead of Tingle’s 12 points. The duo teamed up with sophomores Geordan Downing and Stephen Sivels to wreak havoc on the perimeter, while junior Braxton Figgs commanded the paint.
“I thought our shot selection was a little too quick early, which caused us to struggle, and then once we got our rhythm, those two guys can both shoot it, and they can both attack the cup,” Re said. “Both offensive rebound and defensive rebound really well, so they're kind of anchors to what we do.”
“It's hard to stop us when we have full speed going to the rack. They can only guard us so long. We'll beat the first dude, and then we have options, whether to finish or pass,” Tingle said.
Cape pulled away in the second half, leading by as much as 27, and emptied the bench to give the second unit valuable minutes.
“Dell [Richards] and Trey [Batson], coming off the bench for us, have provided us with really big minutes in the last two games,” Re said, complimenting Oz Batson as well. “We're gonna need them as the season continues to wear on.”
“They work their butts off in practice, and just seeing them get the reward that they strive for is beautiful,” Tingle said.
Junior Michael Thompson, a steady hype man at the end of the bench, was celebrated when he knocked down a 16-footer, and earned a few laughs after being roughed up on a layup attempt.
Scoring at the buzzer, CR prevented Cape from a 20-point win. The Vikings’ 63-44 victory ensures the 3-1 squad will enter the new year no worse than .500 following their two games in the inaugural Beach Slam Classic.
“We were able to take care of business; everybody got in the game; it was a good night,” Re said.
The Vikings are slated to play the Wildcats of Mountain View High School from Stafford, Va., Friday, Dec. 27, in the first round of the Beach Slam Classic. The winner will face the winner of Broadneck (Md.) and Oakland Mills (Md.), while the losers will battle it out at noon, Saturday, Dec. 27, before the title game at 1:30 p.m.
