Cape boys’ basketball wins Ocean Bracket at Beach Slam

The Cape boys’ basketball team won the Ocean Bracket of the Beach Slam in Lewes Dec. 26-27, with a 69-52 win over Early College High School and a 50-47 victory over Odessa. 

Four Vikings, all juniors, scored in double figures in the win over Early College. Geordan Downing led the Vikings with 18 points. Stephen Sivels tallied 16 points, three assists and three steals. Jameson Tingle dropped 16 points while collecting six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Dell Richards pulled down six rebounds. 

Senior David Barnes had his best game as a Viking, scoring 12 points to go along with six rebounds. 

“It was definitely David’s best game,” said Cape coach Steve Re. “He played awesome and led the team by his hustle.” 

The Vikings jumped out to a 16-8 first-quarter lead and controlled the rest of the game. 

“They never really challenged us ... but credit to them for playing hard throughout the game,” Re said.

The Early College Hornets are coached by Cape alumni Ray Jackson, Kevin Brittingham and Tironn Hack. 

“It was an honor and privilege to be on the sidelines coaching against our alma mater,” said Jackson, a 2005 grad. “It’s tough we didn’t get the win, but we played one of the great Cape teams, and the boys played hard to the end, and represented themselves and the school well.”

Cape had a little tougher time against the tenacious 6-3 Ducks of Odessa, as the Vikings eked out a 50-47 victory. 

“It’s always great to win,” Re said. “We actually didn’t play that well. We struggled to get into our defensive sets, and were not as efficient as we normally are offensively. That’s a credit to Odessa who played really hard. I’m proud of our guys for fighting through a tough game and looking forward to getting back to our conference schedule. If we can keep our focus on the court and not get distracted by outside influences, we will reach our full potential.”

Sivels led the way with 19 points. Tingle recorded 11 points, six rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks.  

Senior Braxton Figgs scored 10 while garnering six rebounds. 

“We struggled to gain momentum throughout the whole game,” said Figgs. “I was really happy to see players like Lamar McCoy and David Barnes step up when needed throughout the weekend. The more depth we can have, the better off we are going to be in the long run.”

“I believe these games will definitely give us a boost leading up to the remainder of our season,” said Tingle. “Having a sense of winning a tournament has only sharpened our focus on our end goal of becoming state champions.”