Cape clobbers Cougars 71-49

Entering their Jan. 17 matchup in Wilmington, the Cape and Delcastle basketball teams had been involved in exactly zero games decided by 20 points or more this season. The 5-4 Vikings had won plenty, but they had never really blown anyone out, while the 3-7 Cougars had made a habit of sticking around and falling short late in games.

Cape’s most lopsided win on the year had been a 16-point triumph over Caesar Rodney, and Delcastle’s ugliest loss was a very respectable 13-point setback to Mt. Pleasant, a team that Cape had taken to the brink in a 48-42 defeat at Slam Dunk to the Beach. The Vikings had averaged a ho-hum 55 points per night through nine games, while Delcastle had produced a St. Mark’s-worthy 44 through 10 contests. The numbers pointed almost certainly to a defensive-minded war that would be won and lost in the final possession or two.  

For once, the numbers lied.

Junior forward Ian Robertson matched his career high with 22 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds to pace Cape to a 71-49 throttling of Delcastle that saw the Vikings lead for all but 22 seconds of action and set a season high for points. Steve Re’s squad left no doubt in the upstate-downstate clash, taking command behind Robertson’s hot early shooting and never looking back. Four Vikings scored in double figures as Cape (6-4, 5-1 Henlopen North) won its second straight game and third in four contests since the Slam Dunk. 

“I just tried to be confident,” said Robertson, who hit five of his seven field goal attempts and went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. “I’m the biggest kid on the court, so I can usually get to the basket with ease. Tonight, I focused on that and it worked out.” 

It certainly did, as Robertson’s performance ranks among the most efficient of any Cape player during Re’s tenure.

Robertson wasted little time getting started. After Delcastle opened the scorebook with a free throw, he promptly fired home a three-pointer from the top of the key to put Cape on the board. Two possessions later, the 6-foot-6 would-be surfer dude connected again from deep, ripping the net from the left corner for a 9-4 Cape edge. With seven points in the first 3:06, Robertson set the tone for the night, and the rout was on.

Junior forward Randy Rickards followed Robertson’s example, hitting two 15-foot jumpers on successive possessions to extend the Vikings’ lead. Two minutes later, senior guard Jerry Harden joined the party, catching a feed from Robertson and burying a deep three. When freshman guard Sh’Kai Chandler banked in his own trifecta to put Cape ahead 21-13 near the end of the first quarter, everyone in the building knew that this would be no slow-down slugfest.

The Cape advantage ballooned to as many as 15 points in the second frame, when 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior forward Robert Mitchell entered the fray and let the Cougars know he’s more than just a space-eater. The converted offensive lineman scored eight straight Vikings points in a three-minute span, using his bulk and knowledge of body positioning to get loose in the paint for lay-in after lay-in.  

“For me, it’s always about doing whatever I have to do to help the team get a win,” Mitchell said of his outburst. “If that’s scoring, cool.”

Up by just six points at intermission thanks to a Delcastle surge late in the second quarter, Cape ran away and hid in the third. Mitchell tipped in a miss to open the frame, and his effort on the glass seemed to inspire the Vikings. A three by Barnes, an even deeper one from Chandler, and a Robertson three-point play helped the Vikings turn a tenuous 43-33 edge into a 23-point bulge that they would extend to as many as 25 in the final period.

Rickards finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Cape, which also got 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting from Mitchell. Freshman guard Cory Barnes was his stat-stuffing self, tallying 11 points, five boards, three assists and three steals. Chandler, forced into major minutes after starting two-guard Izaiah Dadzie injured his knee early in the first quarter, came up big with six points, six rebounds and four steals. Harden expanded his role from lockdown defender to quick-thinking playmaker, as he collected a career-high five assists to go with seven points.

Statistically speaking, the Vikings mimicked the Golden State Warriors in many respects, as they recorded a season-high 18 assists on their 25 buckets and hit 6 of their 11 three-point tries on the night.

Re beamed with pride while discussing his team’s growth. 

“We’ve been practicing really well,” Re said. “Our attitude and mind-set have improved. We’ve been waiting to just be confident and comfortable, and lose attitudes and selfishness. We did a great job with those things tonight, especially moving the ball. We’ve made some adjustments and fixed some individual issues. When we finally get it all together, we’re going to be OK.”

Rickards saw the one-sided win as a much-needed shot in the arm for the Vikings.

“My confidence is way back - our confidence is back,” he said. “We have high expectations as a team ... and this shows that we can do everything we want to do this season.”

Junior forward Justin Smith carried Delcastle with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman wing Femi Olowere chipped in with 10 points.

Cape heads back to the hardwood Friday, Jan. 20, when the Vikings host Lake Forest. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.