Cape basketball blows out Lake Forest
Junior point guard Drew Zimmerman scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead four Vikings in double figures Feb. 12, as the Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball team mercy-ruled Lake Forest 77-32 in Lewes.
Cape enjoyed its most efficient offensive day in at least a decade, establishing season bests in points, three-pointers made (12), field-goal percentage (52 percent) and turnovers (six). The Vikings came out hot and never cooled off, blowing the game open with a 26-0 mid-game run and going up by as many as 48 points in the fourth quarter.
Zimmerman may have led the charge, but it was reserves Nicolas Francois and Ray Mitchell who stole the show.
Francois poured in a career-high 14 points, knocked down three three-pointers and added two assists. The senior guard had tallied just seven points all season coming into the contest, but his deadeye shooting provided a huge boost off the bench for the Vikings.
“This felt good,” said Francois, who scored all 11 Cape points in the fourth quarter. “My teammates motivate me to play with confidence every night, and I just played hard trying to get the win.”
Mitchell could do no wrong, going 4-for-4 from the floor and posting career bests of 10 points, eight boards and three blocks.
The 6-foot-5 Mitchell saw spot duty earlier in the season but has made huge strides of late, averaging six points, six boards and two blocks over his last four games. He credited his coaches for his rise up the Vikings’ depth chart.
“It’s all about them,” the junior big man said. “They’ve taught me to stay after practice, put more shots up and commit to getting better. I’ve never seen myself as a big man, but they always try to get me to play bigger.”
Junior wing Dylan Fannin added 13 points, three three-balls and a pair of blocks for Cape (7-8, 5-6 Henlopen North), while senior guard Brody Pedersen canned three three-pointers of his own on the way to nine points. The Vikings also got six points and four assists from senior forward Zimere Bolden, five points and a trifecta from sophomore wing Tajear Freeman, and a three-pointer from junior guard Trey Leggins. Senior guard Kay’von Jackson closed the scorebook with two points and four assists.
Up 23-12 after one period and 27-17 early in the second, Cape ran off the next 26 points over the next eight minutes or so to end the game early. Fannin notched 10 of his points during the surge, hitting a pair of threes and an 18-footer.
The Vikings’ offensive outburst came as a bit of a shock, as they had averaged just 38 points in their previous three games. Coach Shemik Thompson attributed his team’s big day to a change in mindset.
“At yesterday’s practice, we just came in for an hour, shot jumpers and played some games,” Thompson said. “It helped us ease the tension and change the energy up. It was needed after our last game [a 67-42 loss to Polytech]. We had to remind our guys that, you know, we have shooters on this team. So coming in yesterday and having some fun at practice definitely contributed to today’s win.”
The Vikings dropped a 67-42 decision at Polytech Feb. 10. Pedersen scored 11 points, while Mitchell, Zimmerman, and senior big man Tiarnan Hefferan added six points each.
