Hot-shooting Polytech outlasts Cape boys
Senior guard Kyle Gamber drained six three-pointers and scored 22 points as Polytech pulled away from Cape Henlopen 61-51 in boys’ basketball action Jan. 12 in Lewes.
Playing without injured point guard Drew Zimmerman, Cape hung with the high-octane Panthers well into the fourth quarter. The Vikings trailed by eight points 30 ticks into the third, but junior guard Tyrone Tolson poured in 15 straight Cape points over the next five minutes to erase the deficit almost singlehandedly. Tolson hit three three-pointers during the run and tied the game at 41-41 on a fast break lay-in at the 1:15 mark.
Poly responded immediately and emphatically, as Gamber and Jalen Anderson swished three-pointers on the Panthers’ next two trips down the floor. Up 47-43 after three quarters, Polytech widened the gap when Gamber opened the fourth with two more high-arcing long balls. Suddenly down 10, the shellshocked Vikings couldn’t mount a comeback. Cape scraped together eight points the rest of the way, converting just two of its final 11 field goal tries.
Coach Steve Re was pleased with his team’s effort despite the defeat.
“I thought we had a good game plan,” Re said. “I thought we executed it well. [Polytech] just made timely shots, and that killed our momentum. We missed some bunnies and had some turnovers that weren’t great, but we battled our tails off. We actually followed the game plan for about 70% of the game, and the 30% we didn’t, they hurt us. We didn’t contest well on those late threes, but overall, I’m proud of the way we played.”
Tolson led the Vikings (7-3, 5-2 Henlopen North) with 25 points, 21 of them in the second half, while junior forward Jack Schell delivered eight points, 16 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. Schell’s 16 boards were the most by a Viking since Sh’Kai Chandler matched that total in a 2019 game.
Cape opened the game hot, going up 8-1 out of the gate behind three buckets from Schell and forcing the Panthers to miss their first eight shots. Poly rallied late in the frame and led 15-12 after one quarter, then doubled its advantage to six points at intermission.
Tolson thought the Vikings took their feet off the gas in the first frame.
“We came out and played hard and listened to our coach, but when we got up by like 10 in the first quarter, we all kinda relaxed,” he said. “We kinda laid back. After that, [Polytech] went on a run and took the lead, and we never really got it back.”
Senior wing Trey Leggins chipped in eight points and five rebounds for Cape, while senior center Odin Potemski and sophomore guard Jayden Dukes added four points each. Senior forward Dylan Fannin closed out the scoring with a deuce.
Polytech (7-2, 7-0 Henlopen North) got 12 points from Anderson, and 10 apiece from Dorrell Little and Xavier Brewington.
Cape girls top Panthers
The Cape girls’ basketball team won its ninth straight game Jan. 12, defeating Polytech 54-42 on the road. The Vikings were slow out of the gate, scoring just six points in the first quarter and 18 total for the first half. They bounced back in the second half, scoring 18 points in each of the third and fourth quarters.
Faith Re led the way with 23 points, including four three-pointers. Amalia Fruchtman posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. She added three blocks.
