Smyrna smothers Cape hoops 67-44
The Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball team fell behind 12-0 out of the gate and never recovered in a 67-44 loss at unbeaten Smyrna Jan. 22.
Senior guard Robert Wiley registered 17 points and eight rebounds for the long, physical Eagles, while senior big man Olumuyiwa Salako tallied 16 points and 14 boards.
Smyrna asserted itself from the opening tip, scoring the first 12 points of the game and blanking Cape for nearly six minutes. The Eagles extended their lead to 37-16 at the half, holding the Vikings to 15 percent first-half shooting in the process. Smyrna used its superior size to contest every Cape look and pile up offensive rebounds on the other end. Smyrna’s stout frontcourt of Salako, Devin DeMoe and Elisha Gregory essentially played Moses Malone ball, grabbing their own misses and converting one put-back after another to frustrate the Vikings.
The second half was little more than a formality, with the Eagles leading by as many as 31 points late.
Smyrna (4-0, 4-0 Henlopen North) finished the game with 26 offensive boards, the most Cape has surrendered since 2018.
Senior wing Ja’Vaughn Burton came into the game averaging 31 points for the Vikings, but he managed just 10 points and five steals in this one. Cape also got a career-high nine points and nine rebounds from junior forward Zimere Bolden and nine points from junior guard Kay’von Jackson.
Cape (1-3, 1-3 Henlopen North) connected on just 27 percent of its field goal tries and committed a season-high 21 turnovers in the setback, the Vikings’ third in a row.
Head coach Shemik Thompson didn’t mince words after the loss.
“Maybe Smyrna can teach us to be a tough team,” Thompson said. “They had, what, 33 offensive rebounds? It’s about heart. It’s about toughness. It’s about giving up 19 offensive rebounds in the first half, then coming out to start the third quarter and giving up three offensive rebounds in a row. We played really soft today.”
With Cape out of contention in the fourth quarter, Thompson gave significant minutes to his second unit, which took advantage of the opportunity with a 19-point period. Junior guard Owen Smith (three points), junior guard Nicolas Francois (three points), junior forward Robert Kukfa (two points), and junior forward Tiarnan Hefferan (two points) all recorded their first-ever varsity buckets.
The Vikings get back to action on Tuesday, Jan. 26, when they hit the road to take on Sussex Central.
