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Cape boys win first round in championships

Cape boys win at Newark 55-48
Dave Frederick
March 3, 2011
Cape junior point guard Troy Hazzard drives past Newark’s Kadeem Brown during the Vikings’ 55-48 win over the Yellow Jackets. Hazzard tallied 4 points off foul shots in the contest. BY DAN COOK
Cape senior guard Andrew Merlo drives to the hoop during the first quarter of the Vikings’ 55-48 victory over the Yellowjackets. Merlo finished the contest with 16 points while teammate Paris White finished with a game high 17 points for the visiting Vikes. Cape travels to Concord High School Friday, March 4, for a DIAA second round match-up with the Raiders. BY DAN COOK
Cape senior forward Justin Benson-Reid hits a hook shot during the first half of the Vikings 55-48 victory over the Yellowjackets. Benson-Reid finished with five points for the visiting Vikes. Cape travels to Concord High School Friday, March 4, for a DIAA second round match-up with the Raiders. BY DAN COOK
Cape senior guard Andrew Scrutchfield drives on a Newark defender in the fourth quarter of the Vikings’ 55-48 win over the Yellowjackets. Seniors Paris White and Andrew Merlo finished the game with 17 and 16 points, respectively. The Vikes travel to Concord High School Friday, March 4, for a second round match-up with the Raiders. BY DAN COOK
Cape junior point guard Troy Hazzard drives past Newark's Kadeem Brown during the Vikings’ 55-48 win over the Yellowjackets. Hazzard tallied four points off foul shots in the contest. BY DAN COOK

Story Location:
Newark, DE 19711
United States

The Cape boys’ basketball team went from good to straight ugly without stopping on bad last Wednesday night at Newark but had enough in the tank for a 55-48 victory in the first round of the DIAA tournament.

Cape moves on to face powerhouse Concord Friday night, March 4, in a small gym with no tickets sold at the door. A limited number went on sale at Cape beginning Thursday, March 3. Concord is the number 2 seed in the tournament and will enter the Friday game with a record of 19-1. Cape, with its win over Newark, improved to 11-10 but went 9-3 over the last 12 games

“Small gym with a close-in, loud crowd--it’s just a bunch of teenagers playing basketball,” Coach Dwight Tingle said after the victory over Newark. “We’ve played good teams, bad teams and the ones in the middle this season, so I ask ‘why not us?’ I like the way we are playing and coming together.”

Cape jumped Newark inside the old school, black and tan gym with original bleachers, leading 9-0 early and 16-4 at the quarter. Lefty Paris White was going off and getting all the bounces with 10 points in the first period, including two three-pointers.

“We played zone the entire game and Newark didn’t respond well,” Tingle said. “We were fine until we started turning the ball over.”

Cape eased to a 29-17 halftime lead then the wheels came off the wagon as Newark fought back to trail 38-35 early in the fourth quarter to complete a 31-22 run.

The game tightened down to 44-43 with 2:40 remaining, but a Paris White inside power moved off a great pass from L.T. Hazzard and a Justin Benson Reid basket made the score 48-43. Guards Andrew Merlo and Hazzard closed it down from the foul line, securing the 55-48 victory.

“It’s tournament time, a new season,” Merlo said after the game. “We scrimmaged Concord in preseason so we have an idea what to expect. They do play great defense.”

Paris White just smiled after the game, happy to still be playing. “Tournament time,” White said. “We got a win on the road. I can’t wait for Friday night.”

White led all Cape scorers with 17 points while Andrew Merlo scored 16, including 12-16 from the foul line.

Newark was paced by Dominick Perry 14 , Jamar McGriff 14 and Taylor Reynolds 11.

 

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