Cape overcomes slow start, wins season opener at Polytech
Down 12-0 after three minutes of uninspired play in its season-opening clash with host Polytech Dec. 6, the Cape boys’ basketball team had no choice but to play make-believe.
“Coach [Steve Re] huddled us up and we got our heads right,” said junior forward Randy Rickards. “We had to flush it and just pretend the score was 0-0 to get back in the game.”
The young Vikings forgot all about their early struggles, dug out of the hole and held off a pesky Panthers squad for a 66-58 victory. Rickards led Cape (1-0, 1-0 Henlopen North) with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and the Vikings needed him to stuff the stat sheet in this one.
Heavily favored Cape came out flat, clanking its first five field goal tries, while senior forward Jaeden Dungee simply couldn’t miss for Poly in the early going. Dungee poured in seven points in the first two minutes and then found Darrell DeMoe for a three-point play that put the Panthers up 12-0, forcing Re’s timeout. The Vikings responded immediately, as freshman guard Sh’Kai Chandler and junior guard Izaiah Dadzie connected on three-pointers on consecutive possessions to keep their team within striking distance.
Cape closed the gap to 18-12 after one period thanks to a last-second Chandler runner, then used that momentum to roll off a 10-0 spurt early in the second. Down seven, freshman point guard Cory Barnes hit a pair of free throws and junior forward Ian Robertson went 1-for-2 from the line. Rickards followed with a put-back of his own miss a few possessions later, then found Robertson on a nifty feed for a lay-in to knot the score. Chandler then rattled in a three from the right wing at the 3:03 mark to give the Vikings their first lead of the night, and they would never trail again.
The Vikings led 29-27 at intermission and extended their edge to as many as 10 several times in the second half, but timely shooting from Dungee and some careless Cape ballhandling allowed Polytech to stay in it. Dungee sliced a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to three with a pair of off-the-dribble three-pointers, but Dadzie answered seconds later with a three of his own after a Barnes feed, putting Cape up 50-44 with just over five minutes remaining. Dungee wouldn’t go quietly, however, as he drained another contested three to close the gap to 50-47, but a dagger three from Robertson all but ended things with 3:30 left.
Dungee led all scorers with 26 points and 8 boards, canning four three pointers on the night, while Joseph Haass added nine points for Polytech (0-2, 0-2 Henlopen North).
Chandler tallied 13 points and five rebounds in his high school debut for Cape, while Robertson scored eight of his 12 points in the final frame and added six rebounds. Dadzie did his best Steph Curry impersonation, going 4-for-5 from long distance on the way to 12 points. Barnes notched six points and four boards in his first high school action, while senior swingman Jerry Harden chipped in five points and four rebounds.
Cape shot 44 percent from the field on the night – a robust 56 percent in the second half – and connected on seven of its 16 three-point tries. The Vikings were also more than willing to share the ball, amassing 13 assists on their 20 field goals, and held a healthy 35-27 edge on the glass.
Re was pleased with his young team’s response to adversity.
“We came out super flat and maybe had some nerves going, with two freshmen getting tons of minutes and a couple other guys who didn’t play a lot last year,” Re said. “We had to grind it out, and we did. It’s gonna be a process with this group – it’s not gonna happen over night – but we’ll get better as we keep working. A win is a win…We have a lot to work on and we played sloppy and still got the win, so we’ll take that.”
The Vikings return to action Friday, Dec. 9, when they host Caesar Rodney at 7:15 p.m.
