Cape goes stone cold in 54-43 loss to Smyrna
The Cape boys’ basketball team was in an ideal position Jan. 6 at the Big House, leading fifth-ranked Smyrna by two points after three quarters in a battle for Henlopen North supremacy. The Vikings had shot 58 percent from the floor and held Smyrna sharpshooter Caleb Matthews to six points through three periods. Steve Re’s young squad couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.
But Cape couldn’t close the deal, as senior guard Anthony Watson drained two fourth-quarter three-pointers to key an 11-2 Smyrna run and give the Eagles a 54-43 victory in a contest that was closer than the final score might indicate.
Azubuike Nwankwo, Smyrna’s 7-foot-2 junior center, tallied game-highs of 12 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks for the Eagles (7-2, 5-0 Henlopen North), and his eight offensive boards supplied the cold-shooting Eagles with crucial second-chance buckets throughout. Watson scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth, while Matthews finished with 10 points and four assists despite being shadowed by face-guarding Cape senior Jerry Harden.
Junior forward Randy Rickards scored 13 points for the Vikings, who fell to 4-4 overall and 4-1 in the division. Junior forward Ian Robertson added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, while freshman point guard Cory Barnes notched eight points, six boards and a pair of assists.
Up 37-36 with seven minutes left in the fourth, Cape could only manage six points the rest of the way and was shut out over the final three minutes. Watson hit a wide-open three on a Matthews assist to put Smyrna up by two at the 6:20 mark, and the Eagles never trailed again. Junior guard Dymere Richardson swiped the ball from Rickards on Cape’s next possession and converted an uncontested lay-up, and another Watson three put Smyrna up 44-39 with 5:20 remaining. The Vikings couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way, as they struggled mightily to score against an active Smyrna zone defense. Cape shot just 2-for-10 from the floor and committed six turnovers in the fourth.
Re said his team took some big steps forward in the setback.
“We didn’t run zone offense well [in the fourth quarter],” Re said. “We got some good looks and just didn’t knock them down, but we stuck with the game plan for four quarters and played really hard … We really wanted this game, but we just came up short. The key for us tonight was our inability to finish in transition - we left a lot of points out there.”
Robertson bemoaned his team’s inaccuracy down the stretch, but he saw a bright spot in Cape’s defensive effort.
“We just couldn’t hit a shot [in the fourth]. Eventually, it just built up and we got a little frustrated with ourselves. Smyrna’s been blowing out other people in the conference by like 30, and we D’d them up really well, so we have to be pleased with that.”
Although the Vikings outshot the Eagles 47 percent to 35 percent on the night, Smyrna made up for its shooting woes by collecting 14 offensive rebounds to Cape’s one. Turnovers plagued the Vikings all night, as they coughed it up 17 times and could only force nine Eagles miscues.
Cape, which has dropped three of its last four games, will look to return to the win column when it visits Indian River (4-3, 2-3 Henlopen South) Tuesday, Jan. 10.
