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Vikings fall in OT despite Burton's 34

February 23, 2021

The Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball team came within a few inches of a monumental upset Feb. 22 at Dover, falling 73-67 in overtime despite career highs of 34 points and six three-pointers from senior wing Ja’Vaughn Burton. 

With the score knotted at 57 and five seconds left in regulation, Cape guard Hank D’Ambrogi corralled a rebound and fired a full-court pass to sharpshooter Brody Pedersen. The junior forward caught the ball 15 feet from the basket and got off an open jumper from the right baseline. The shot looked good off his hand, but the ball kissed every inch of the rim before rattling out as the buzzer blared. 

Dover dominated the four-minute overtime by living large at the foul line, as the Senators connected on 12-of-15 free throws during the extra frame.  

Dover finished the game 27-for-43 from the charity stripe, while the Vikings made 10 of their 15 tries. That glaring disparity, coupled with a 45-24 advantage on the glass and 24 offensive boards, helped the Senators survive an abysmal shooting night. 

After being held to a season-low nine points in Cape’s win over Sussex Central last week, Burton played like a man possessed from the opening whistle. His nine first-quarter points helped put the Vikings in front 18-13 after one period, and his timely buckets kept them there until midway through the fourth. Dover sophomore Jaheim Harrell splashed home a corner three to put Dover ahead 53-50 with 3:39 left, but Burton answered seconds later with a 22-foot rainbow. 

Cape inched ahead thanks to layups from Zimere Bolden and D’Ambrogi, but Harrell sank one of two at the line to make it a 57-all game and set up the final sequence.  

Second-year head coach Shemik Thompson struggled to hide his frustration after the setback.

“This one was a little tough,” Thompson said. “They took a little lead on us, we fought back, and we had a shot to win it at the buzzer. It just slipped away from us in overtime. Three of our starters fouled out by the end of the game. It put a lot of stress on our other guys and made it difficult to execute by the end.”

The Vikings’ offense ran through Burton all night, but he got lots of help from his big men. Bolden, a junior forward, prolonged his recent hot streak with eight points, eight boards, and four assists, while sophomore forward Dylan Fannin netted eight points and swatted away a pair of shots. Cape got an unexpected boost from reserve center Tiarnan Hefferan, who exploded for career bests of seven points, four boards, and two blocks in his first major minutes of the year. Senior point guard Nate Sivels added six points and five assists. 

Harrell carried Dover on his broad shoulders, pouring in 35 points to go with 10 rebounds and getting to the cup whenever his team needed a score. Fellow sophomore Amir Hite added 14 points off the pine, while junior center Elijah Sessoms collected seven points and 11 boards. 

The Vikings (3-8, 3-8 Henlopen North) shot a very healthy 49 percent from the floor and held the Senators to 34 percent shooting, but Dover made up the difference with its size and athleticism, creating countless second and third chances on the offensive glass.

The Senators (10-2, 10-2 Henlopen North) won their sixth straight game. They survived Cape by the skin of their teeth for the second time this season, having earned a 68-65 victory in Lewes Feb. 15.

Vikings top Milford

Ja’Vaughn Burton scored 18 of his 23 points before halftime and fellow senior Nate Sivels keyed a late 26-5 run as the Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball team outlasted Milford 67-55 Feb. 24 in Lewes.

Down 43-39 late in the third period after 20-odd minutes of ragged, turnover-plagued play, the Vikings suddenly caught fire. Burton converted a Buccaneer miscue into a bucket and Sivels followed with two lay-ins before Kay’von Jackson whipped a behind-the-back pass to Tiarnan Hefferan for two. Suddenly up two entering the fourth frame, Cape continued the onslaught. Sivels poured in seven more points in the opening minutes of the fourth, getting the COVID crowd loud with a 12-foot and-one runner and slicing through multiple defenders for a pair of gimmes. By the time Owen Smith drilled a three from the corner and Zimere Bolden capped the run with a put-back, the Vikings had pulled ahead 65-48.

Head coach Shemik Thompson was less than satisfied with the win.

“I’m not thrilled with the effort tonight,” said Thompson, who pulled his starters four minutes in due to doldrumous play. “We didn’t start off well and didn’t play with energy. We weren’t rebounding. We weren’t boxing out. The ball was sticking on offense. We weren’t executing. We weren’t contesting jump shots. It was a sloppy game for us. We got by, but that’s about it.”

The Vikings looked lost on both sides of the ball in the opening minutes, turning the ball over time and time again and giving the Buccaneers open looks aplenty from long range. Cape trailed by seven points in the second quarter before Burton netted 10 unanswered points, including a nifty reverse layup and two deep three-pointers.

Sivels finished with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting for Cape (4-8, 4-8 Henlopen North), which also got eight points and 10 rebounds from Bolden and a six-point, four-assist night from Jackson.

The Vikings committed a season-high 24 turnovers but forced 25 from the Bucs.

Ten players scored for Cape, which played its typical unselfish brand of basketball and racked up 13 assists as a team. Burton dished out five of them.

The Vikings close out regular-season play - and a rare back-to-back, home-and-home series - Thursday, Feb. 25 at Milford.

 

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