Cape boys blow eight-point lead, lose to Delcastle
The Delcastle boys’ basketball team used a timely three-pointer from sophomore forward Jaheem Gadsden and a 20-4 game-ending run to defeat Cape Henlopen 52-44 on Jan. 15 in Lewes.
The undersized Vikings played with heart and soul against the long, athletic Cougars, taking a 40-32 lead with three minutes left in regulation. Delcastle forced seven Cape turnovers down the stretch to trim the margin to three in the final minute, and Gadsden drained a wide-open three-pointer from the top of the key with five seconds on the clock.
Gadsden’s bomb, which came after referees gave Delcastle possession on a jump-ball after initially awarding it to Cape, seemed to take the life out of the Vikings. They gave up six quick points in overtime and could not recover.
Cape’s two leading scorers were junior guard Collin Mallet with 16 points and sophomore guard Ja’Vaughn Burton with 11.
Mallet saw light at the end of the tunnel after the Vikings’ sixth loss in seven games.
“We couldn’t finish it in the end – that’s all,” said Mallet, who hit four three-pointers. “Every loss comes with positives, and with this one, we just know we have to work harder and focus.”
Cape head coach Steve Re was speechless afterward.
“I don’t know [what happened],” Re said. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like what happened tonight. We had the game won … We were still up three with a few seconds left and we lost focus. We let their guy get open. If you watch the tape, you’ll see two Cape players go to the same corner and leave their kid wide open. That should never happen in our out-of-bounds schemes. That was the game right there. We played so hard to get to that point, and we just gave it away.”
The Vikings (4-7, 3-4 Henlopen North) scored just four points on one field goal over the final 6:58. They shot 29 percent from the floor and went 7-for-31 from three-point range (23 percent).
Gadsden scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Cougars.
Cape visits Sussex Central on Friday, Jan. 18.
