Cape boys’ basketball gets statement win over CR

Cape Henlopen basketball was in dire need of a statement win. Entering their Dec. 14 tilt with Caesar Rodney, the Vikings had posted a 19-36 record since the end of the 2017-18 season, missing the DIAA tournament twice before COVID-19 necessitated an all-comers format last year.

In that span, they had dropped an unthinkable 18 straight games to Henlopen North heavyweights Dover, Smyrna and CR. A buzzer-beating triumph at Sussex Central Dec. 9 offered a glimpse of hope, however. Armed with an experienced, hot-shooting backcourt and emerging talent down low, perhaps Cape could give the Riders a game. 

The Vikings made their statement loud and clear.

Drew Zimmerman and Brody Pedersen drilled corner three-pointers in the final two minutes, and Cape ended the game on an 8-2 run as the Vikings upended host CR 62-59.

“This wouldn’t have happened last year,” said Cape head coach Shemik Thompson. “We would’ve folded in the last five minutes. We finally played four quarters and closed one out.”

Zimmerman put up 16 points, five assists and three steals to pace the Vikings (2-1, 2-1 Henlopen North). With the game deadlocked at 57-57 and 50 seconds on the clock, the junior point guard caught a kick-out from senior guard Kay’von Jackson and won the game with a wide-open three from the right wing, his third make from beyond the arc. Zimmerman piled up 11 of his points in the second half, hitting several shots to keep Cape close when the Riders made spurts.

Pedersen followed up a 20-point outburst at Sussex Central with a 16-point, six-rebound night, drilling a blind trifecta over a blanket of arms to knot the game at 57-57 and set up Zimmerman’s heroics.

“I couldn’t see much with the hands in my face, but it was basically all muscle memory,” said Pedersen, who netted a similar shot to beat Central in the waning seconds. “I shot about 1,000 threes a day all summer – I trust it off my hand.”

Pedersen carried Cape early, pouring in 10 first-half points. After a mid-game cold spell, the senior guard found the range just in time, burying two threes in the final four minutes of action. “Crush” finished 4-for-8 from long range and has connected on nine of his 18 three-point tries in his last two games.

Thompson praised his team’s toughness in the face of a hostile crowd and a dizzying CR press.

“We competed,” Thompson said. “That’s our slogan this whole season, what we wanna do every single game. We know it’s a game of runs, but our goal is just to compete possession by possession. Our depth this year allows us to be more competitive in practice than we may have been in the past, and it’s translating over into games now. We press every day in practice, so that’s nothing to us. Our job against it is to stay under control when we break it. No matter what the situation is – a press, the game’s on the line, whatever – we wanna stay composed. Today, I thought we did a good job of that.”

Senior forward Zimere Bolden stuffed the stat sheet for the Vikings, collecting nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Jackson added nine points, four boards and a pair of steals, hitting two three-pointers along the way. Cape got a big-time performance down low from Odin Potemski, who has suddenly become a force in the paint. The junior big man swatted away five shots to match his five points and five boards.

Juniors Dylan Fannin (three points, two rebounds), Trey Leggins (two points, three boards), Ronnie Lofland (one point, one steal), and Tiarnan Hefferan (one point) also scored for Cape, which notched its first win at CR since the 2017-18 season and snapped a six-game skid versus the Riders.

Pedersen may have played the hero, but he focused on his teammates during the post-game interview.

“We trusted each other,” he said. “Our trust is way better than last year, and it got us a great win for the program. Drew, Kay’von, Zimere – it was all them. I just hit open shots when I get them, but they gave us great guard play all night against the press. Great guard play can help you win tough road games.”

The game was tight throughout, as neither team led by more than six points all night. CR enjoyed a slim 33-32 edge at intermission, but the Vikings stormed out of the locker room to tally seven straight points – five of them by Zimmerman – to go up 39-33. After Caesar Rodney came back with nine unanswered points of its own, Cape ripped off seven of the next 10 points to take a 46-45 lead into the final frame.

The fourth quarter saw more of the same, with four lead changes and three ties over the last 6:30. 

Senior guard Craig Williams buoyed CR (1-1, 1-1 Henlopen North) with 15 points, while senior forward Mekhi Tribbett chipped in 11.

The Vikings outshot the Riders 41 percent to 37 percent and knocked down a season-high 10 three-pointers. They committed just 16 turnovers, a small number considering the game’s breakneck pace, and forced CR into 17 miscues.

Cape will look to extend its two-game winning streak Thursday, Dec. 16, when it hosts Freire Charter of Wilmington.