Delmarva Christian opens tourney with win at Central
In their closest-traveled game this season, the Delmarva Christian boys’ basketball team drove just 3.7 miles and squeaked out a 39-38 victory over neighbors Sussex Central in the first round of the DIAA state tournament.
Jayson Handy and Chase Hesson led the Royals with 11 points each. Lou Fleurima added 10, while Zach Smith and Gabe Herling tallied four and three points, respectively.
“I had a great time playing tonight,” Hesson said. “We’re stepping on the shoulders of the teams of our past at DCHS. We might have a 2-9 record, but we’re all 0-0 in the playoffs, and now we’re 1-0.”
“It always feels good to get a playoff win,” said Royals head coach Micah Twedell. “To be honest, Sussex Central played well enough to win that game. They beat us pretty much to every loose ball, to pretty much every rebound and to most of the 50/50 balls. Hats off to them for coming in and hitting us in the mouth. They are really well coached. I’m proud of my guys and how they pulled it out in the end. We have to play better on Thursday, or Seaford is going to kick our tail. I think our schedule helped to prepare us well. I think we were the most-traveled team this year, and tonight we were the least traveled. It’s nice to play a south school after playing all upstate teams.”
The Royals had to play all upstate teams due to the cancellation of the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference schedule and Henlopen Conference teams only playing each other.
Malachi Waters led the Knights with 10 points, while Dontae Spencer scored seven, Garrett Statler tallied five, Alton Dennis hit for four and Chase Boyle hit a deuce.
The Golden Knights finish their season at 7-8. The Royals will travel to Seaford Thursday, March 4, to play the Blue Jays in the second round.
Dan has worked for the Cape Gazette for more than 30 years as a photographer and reporter, covering high school sports and happenings around eastern Sussex County. He won a photography award from the National Newspaper Association, and numerous awards from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association. A Delaware native, Dan graduated from Cape in 1972 and returned as a teacher and coach in the 1980s. He retired from the classroom in 2016. He was inducted into Cape High’s Legends Stadium in 2016. In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, grandchildren and dogs.
