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Vikings hold off Dover 48-46 behind Robertson’s double-double

January 5, 2017

Undermanned and faced with the prospect of a third consecutive setback, the Cape boys’ basketball team responded with a 48-46 victory over visiting Dover Jan. 3, thanks in part to a double-double from junior forward Ian Robertson and late-game heroics by freshman guard Cory Barnes.

Robertson tallied 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Vikings, while Barnes scored the team’s final four points and hit the game-winning free-throws over two possessions in the last minute. 

Dover (2-5, 1-3 Henlopen North) had won four straight and nine of 10 versus Cape, which improved to 4-3 overall and stayed a perfect 4-0 in the Henlopen North despite playing without top scorer and rebounder Randy Rickards. The junior forward sat out due to a disciplinary issue, but the Vikings used balanced scoring and timely defensive stands to eke out the victory.

With the score knotted at 44 and just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Barnes fought for position underneath, caught an entry pass with his back to the bucket and rose over a Dover defender to put his team up 46-44 at the 1:30 mark. The Vikings had a chance to milk the clock for the win a few possessions later, but an errant inbounds pass led to a breakaway lay-in for Senators guard Shyhee McDowell, who evened the score with 25 ticks left. Barnes answered by driving hard to the hole and drawing contact with a defender. He rattled home the second of his two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to put the Vikings up one at the 21-second mark.

Cape applied heavy pressure on Dover’s final possession, and freshman guard Sh’Kai Chandler dove to the hardwood to collect a steal at midcourt. Barnes added another point at the charity stripe to provide the final margin.

“I was just basically thinking, ‘Don’t mess up,’ ” Barnes admitted afterward. “There was a lot of pressure in the last few minutes, but we got a big win tonight.”

Barnes finished with eight points for the Vikings, who also got seven points, six boards and three steals from Chandler. Senior guard Jerry Harden chipped in with seven points and a pair of blocks, while junior guard Izaiah Dadzie drilled a pair of three-pointers to notch six points. Senior forward Noah Piper, manning the paint in Rickards’ absence, filled in admirably with four points and four caroms.

Sixth-year head coach Steve Re saw significant growth in his young Vikings.

“The goals tonight were to play together, move the basketball, make open shots and rebound the ball,” Re said. “I thought we rebounded really well tonight. Our defense was stellar. We have to clean some things up during certain situations, but the more you’re in those situations, the better you’ll be on the other end. It was a needed win. Any win’s a good win, and we’ll take it.”

Freshman guard Eden Davis poured in 17 points for Dover, while his freshman backcourt mate Javon Peace added 13. 

Robertson couldn’t have been happier with his squad’s gutty performance under pressure.

“This was really big for us, and it might be a turning point in the season,” he said. “We just finished [with two losses] at Slam Dunk, so we needed a win going back into the conference. I thought we moved the ball really well today and just played hard all around.”

Cape shot 17-for-43 from the floor (40 percent), canned 10 of its 13 free throws (77 percent), and held a 24-22 rebounding edge on the long, athletic Senators.

The Vikings return to action Friday, Jan. 6, when they host Smyrna (6-2, 4-0 Henlopen North) in a battle for Henlopen supremacy. The Eagles feature 7-foot-2 center Azubuike Nwankwo and deadeye three-point specialist Caleb Matthews, so get to the Big House early.

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