Cape tops Howard 73-65 to reach semifinals

The redemption song of Cape basketball continues into the semifinal round of the DIAA state basketball tournament as the Vikings jumped the defending state champion Howard Wildcats 24-15 in the first quarter and stayed out front the rest of the way, winning 73-65.

Tyreik Burton, back in the lineup after being iced for the Woodbridge game, scored 11 first-quarter points and finished with a game high 25.

Toney Floyd has shaken his Good Toney/Bad Toney inconsistent play and according to Coach Re, “Toney has been Great Toney the three games of this tournament. He can get up and down the court and go to the basket as hard as anyone.”  Floyd scored 20 points in the game.

David Kwan was big for Cape in the first half, scoring five points while banging with the big bodies on the inside.

Another guy is Jon Warren. He didn’t have his best game, then take a look at his numbers: a double/double 14 points and 10 rebounds while going 4 for 4 from the free throw line.  In fact Cape didn’t miss a free throw until the fourth quarter, shooting 20-23 for the ball game.

Solomon Cox played 27 minutes of the 32-minute game, scoring seven points and helping to break the three-quarter court trap press when Howard brought the pressure.

“Every run they made we answered," Re said after the game. “There was a time I thought we played a little sloppy maybe lost our focus, but not our courage. You come to play here; you will not back into a victory. I was proud of how our kids responded.”

Howard's Jakir Stewart with 24 and Bryan Wright with 21 led the Wildcat scoring attack.

“Wright is a beast on the inside.  We changed defense to slow him down which we did, but the kid is a great player; we just made him work harder," Re said.

Cape will play Saint George's Tech in the first semi game at 6:30 p.m., Thursday March 6, at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Hawks upset Sanford in overtime 69-66.

Lamar Hamrick, a 6-1 sophomore, led the Hawks with 38 points and 15 rebounds.