Vikings come up clutch in 65-58 win at Tech

The Cape Henlopen and Sussex Tech boys’ basketball squads added another chapter to the most raucous high school hoops rivalry in southern Delaware Feb. 3 in Georgetown.

The Vikings got 16 points from junior forward Ian Robertson, and Cape scored the game’s final nine points to defeat the Ravens 65-58.

“This was huge,” said Cape head coach Steve Re after his team earned a hard-fought win in hostile territory. “Throw the records out when this game’s played. It’s a big game and emotions run high, so I’m excited that we responded well to being down. I’m happy with our ability to focus tonight.”

Focus was indeed the name of the game, and Cape delivered it in the final minutes.

With his team behind 58-56 late in the fourth quarter and a capacity Tech crowd on full blast, Robertson whipped a pass to freshman guard Sh’Kai Chandler, who buried a three-pointer from the right wing. A few possessions later, junior forward Randy Rickards extended the Cape edge to three with a turnaround jumper from deep in the paint. Following a Tech turnover, Rickards exploited a mismatch underneath for an easy bucket and a 63-58 Vikings advantage with 45 seconds left. The Ravens’ Khalil Bolden answered with what appeared to be an and-one lay-in, but he was whistled for an offensive foul, all but ending the game. Senior wing Jerry Harden capped off the Cape comeback by catching a full-court pass from freshman guard Cory Barnes and converting a lay-up in the final seconds. A sizable group of Cape supporters then rose as one and belted out the familiar “C-High, you know!” refrain.  

The Vikings (10-5, 7-2 Henlopen North) held their cross-county rivals scoreless over the final 3:20 of the game to secure their fifth consecutive win over the Ravens. 

Senior guard Rasheed Woods was downright heroic for Cape in the final frame, hitting two three-pointers on successive possessions midway through the fourth to keep his team in contention. Woods finished with 11 points on the night, all of them in the second half, and connected on three of five three-point tries. Since he replaced the injured Izaiah Dadzie in Cape’s starting lineup two weeks ago, Woods has averaged 10 points per game and hit 10 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

Woods, who prides himself on his lockdown defense, credited the win to the Vikings’ effort on that side of the ball.

“Tonight was an adrenaline rush,” Woods said. “It felt great to come back and get the win … You could feel [the emotion]. We played hard on [defense], and getting stops hyped us up even more … It was all about getting stops. That gave us energy and confidence.”

Re smiled wide when asked about Woods’s clutch buckets.

“Lulu’s always ready, and he stepped up again for us tonight,” Re said. “He’s one of the most mentally tough kids on the team. When he’s playing well, that’s infectious for us.”

The Vikings delivered their most balanced performance of the season, as four Cape players reached double figures in scoring. Barnes tallied 11 points despite early foul trouble, while Harden added 10 to go along with five rebounds.

Robertson treated the box score like an all-you-can-eat buffet, amassing eight rebounds, four assists, five steals and five blocks to augment his 16-point outing.

“[Tech was] a scrappy team,” Robertson said. “I knew that if I got the ball down low, they’d foul me or I’d make the lay-up. I just tried to get big down low.”

Robertson praised his teammates for their selfless play down the stretch.

“This was the best team game that we’ve played all year,” he said. “In the fourth quarter, we relied on our teammates more than ever. It was less one-on-one and more moving the ball to get the right shots.” 

Junior guard Jaquan Burton poured in a game-high 18 points for Tech (5-11, 3-7 Henlopen North), draining three three-pointers along the way. The Ravens also got nine points and six rebounds from junior forward Dominick Conquest.

Rickards finished with nine points and six rebounds for Cape, while Chandler contributed six points on a pair of three-pointers. Senior forward Noah Piper closed out the Vikings’ scorebook with two points on a feathery 18-foot jumper.

Cape once again came out flat on the road, spotting Tech the first 10 points of the game. Burton scored all 10 of those points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers to send the Ravens’ student section into a frenzy. The Vikings were blanked on the scoreboard over the first four minutes of play, but they chipped away at the deficit by ratcheting up their defensive intensity and getting to the free-throw line. Cape drew 16 first-half fouls and converted 12 of 21 free throws before the break to close the gap to 30-29 at intermission. Robertson scored 12 points in the half, including six from the charity stripe.  

The Vikings made 13 of their 22 field goal attempts (59 percent) in the second half after an 8-for-23 showing (35 percent) in the first.

Cape will look to extend its two-game winning streak Tuesday, Feb. 7, when the Vikings visit Dover.