Cape completes season sweep of Milford with 53-38 win

It might be easy to borrow sugar from a neighbor, but sharing wins in a zero-sum game is a bit different. Milford tried to get a win back Feb. 10, but the Bucs were stifled by Cape 53-38.

Despite the win clinching a season sweep for the Vikings, the Bucs didn’t make things easy for host Cape the first time around and in the first half of the Milford edition.

Cape started the game red-hot and doubled Milford up 14-7 at the end of the first. But a wild environment helped the Bucs inch back into the contest, trailing only 25-20 at the break. Just when it seemed like it was going to be a tight game in the second half, the Vikings showed they were never out of their element.

“Everybody here in the student section is going crazy, and since it's a big game, it’s loud and everything, but knowing how to play Cape basketball, we just took control, stayed as a team and executed,” said junior Stephen Sivels.

Sivels went to Milford in middle school and showed out in front of some of his old friends to the tune of 12 points, five helpers, two boards and a pair of steals. While he may have felt some comforts of a past home, the other players were just as comfortable thanks in large part to their practice routines.

“We practice hard every day,” senior Braxton Figgs said. “We're built for environments like this. Obviously, tensions and emotions are gonna run high – we all know these guys, we've grown up playing against these guys our whole lives – but our practices are our Super Bowl.”

Figgs is one of the senior leaders on the squad, setting a standard with stat lines like the dozen points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and one steal.

Airtight defense and a commitment to protecting the ball led to a 20-12 third quarter and a 45-32 edge heading into the final frame. Cape tightened up even more in the fourth quarter to seal the deal 53-38.

“Our defense is phenomenal, and we've been rebounding the ball better each game as we progress throughout the year,” coach Steve Re said. “We're at the time of the year where we're getting better and, defensively, we are intense every day, and so we have some really good habits on that end of the ball.”

Junior Geordan Downing led the scoring charge with 13 points, and his classmate Jameson Tingle led the squad with 13 rebounds, and tied Sivels’ two steals and Figgs’ four blocks.