Delmarva Christian wins ESIAC title over Salisbury School

The Royals mens squad defeated the Salisbury School 89-45 to win the 2020 ESIAC tournament title. Shown are in back are (l-r) coach Lynn Moore, Michael Briggs, Brendan Sherman, head coach Micah Twedell, Andrew Workman, Chris Vonhof, Chase Hesson, Carter Breasure, Riley Briggs, Zach Smith, Wyatt Kwiatkowski, Trey Magee, Malachi Matthews, coach Martez Hagans, Jeremiah Hannah, Brayden Stonebraker, coach Cordae Showell and coach Keith Stonebraker. In front are Nate Moyer, Gabe Herling, Lou Fleurima and Seth Stevens. DAN COOK PHOTOS

Dan Cook

February 24, 2020

The Delmarva Christian boys’ basketball squad jumped out front quickly and never looked back, scoring an 89-45 victory over the Salisbury School to win the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference tournament before a standing-room-only crowd Feb. 21 at home. They also garnered the regular-season trophy, going undefeated in the ESIAC. The championship is the third straight ESIAC tournament title and the second straight regular-season title for the Royals.

The Royals hit fast and often, taking a 61-23 lead into the halftime break and finishing the game with a 44-point running-clock victory.

Senior Andrew Workman led the Royals with 23 points, including three from behind the three-point line. He was also voted Player of the Year in the ESIAC.

“We just wanted to make a statement early,” Workman said. “We knew that if we went up on them early, then we could just continue to put them away. This title means a little more since I’m a senior.”

Freshman Gabe Herling dropped 20 points with four threes. Senior center Chris Vonhof scored 15 points, while playing dominating defense in the paint.

“We feel really confident now,” Vonhof said. “We’re shooting really well. This will help propel us into the DIAA state tournament. Hopefully we’ll have a bye; we don’t know yet. But we are going to come out and be ready for whoever we play. Our freshman year we would talk about what it would be like to play our senior season, and this is the team we dreamed of having. To come out here as seniors and get things done in the ESIAC means a lot to us, but we’ve got to move on and get ready for the state tournament.”

Wyatt Kwiatkowski hit two threes and a deuce, while senior Seth Stevens added seven. Lou Fleurima and Nate Moyer hit for six while Chase Hesson and Brayden Stonebraker each hit a bucket.

“The Salisbury School has gotten better each time we’ve played them,” said Royals head coach Micah Twedell. “They are a good team, but when we shoot the ball the way we shot in the first half, we’re really hard to beat. Now we need to go in the state tournament hot. The guys probably even played past my expectations, which was awesome. It was a lot of fun to watch them tonight. We have over a week to wait for the tournament, and we’re going to try and get better in that time. We’ll have a little rest, then get back in here and get better.”

The Dragons were led by seniors Jozef Baraz with 16 points and Jarad Vazquez with 15.

Kwiatkowski, Vonhof and Workman were voted all-ESIAC, with Workman getting ESIAC Player of the Year. Herling garnered honorable mention.

The Royals defeated Salisbury Christian School 64-28 in the ESIAC semifinals Feb. 19.

Workman led the Royals with 21, while Vonhof dropped 12. Herling and Kwiatkowski scored 10 each.

The DIAA State Tournament will begin Tuesday, March 3.