Cape boys lose home opener to Caesar Rodney 57-38
The Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball team started strong against a favored Caesar Rodney squad Dec. 14 in Lewes, but the Vikings were outscored 35-15 over the final 20 minutes in a 57-38 defeat.
Forward Shaft Clark, a 6-foot-7 senior, scored 18 points and collected 12 rebounds for Caesar Rodney, which used its superior size to overwhelm Cape on the inside. The Riders outrebounded the Vikings 47-24, snagged 17 offensive boards and swatted away six Cape shots. They also limited the Vikings to 14-for-51 shooting (28 percent), their worst night from the floor since a loss at Smyrna in February 2017.
Sophomore guard Ja’Vaughn Burton led the Vikings (2-1, 2-1 Henlopen North) with 11 points and three three-pointers, all in the first half. Junior wing Sh’Kai Chandler added nine points and five rebounds, while junior guard Kris Rushin and sophomore forward Ethan Pires notched seven points and five boards apiece.
Forward William Burke, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior, owned the paint for CR (2-1, 2-1 Henlopen North), tallying 16 rebounds and two blocks to go along with five points. The Riders also got 11 points and seven steals from senior guard Zayquan Eaton and eight points from senior guard Jaden Corbett.
The Vikings looked capable of challenging CR early on, as they stayed even with the Riders through one quarter and took a 23-22 lead on a lay-in from Rushin midway through the second. CR responded with an 11-2 run to close the half, and Cape never closed the gap after intermission. The Vikings mustered just four field goals and 13 points in the second half.
Cape head coach Steve Re said his young squad looked the part.
“The team I saw tonight was not the team I’ve been watching up until this point,” Re said. “Our guys didn’t handle pressure very well. You’ve gotta give credit to CR. They took us out of what we like to do, and our ability to adjust was very poor. I thought we played hard, but we weren’t able to make the adjustments that we’d talked about coming into the game. That’s a product of us being inexperienced and just not handling the moment well.”
Rushin had a similar take on the setback.
“We’re young and inexperienced, so I think the atmosphere got to us,” Rushin said.
Cape heads back to action Tuesday, Dec. 18, when the Vikings visit 3-1 Milford. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.
