Appo’s Myles Cale goes up for a dunk during early action of the Slam Dunk to The Beach on Sunday afternoon at Cape Henlopen High School. Appoquinimink fell to Maret School in four overtimes. (Photo: Chuck Snyder, DelawareOnline)

LEWES – No Delaware team came closer than 10 points against an out-of-state opponent at the Slam Dunk to the Beach boys basketball showcase last year.

Appoquinimink came within a whisker of beating an out-of-state team in the second annual event’s first game on Sunday.

The Jaguars didn’t win any fans, but they almost won the game before Trey Perry of the Maret School of Washington, D.C., hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer of the fourth overtime to give the Frogs a 55-52 victory at Cape Henlopen High.

“I kept on telling them, ‘No team from Delaware won a game against an out-of-state team last year,” Appo coach Steve Wright said. “I said, ‘We’ve got the first game at 12 o’clock, let’s set that tone.’”

The Jaguars (3-3) set the tone with a torrid first half, shooting 59.1 percent from the field – including 4 of 7 3-pointers – on the way to a 34-25 lead. Appo still led 48-38 going into the fourth quarter, but Maret center Luka Garza took over.

The 6-foot-10 junior hit two layups and a baby hook during a 10-0 run as the Frogs tied it at 48 with 4:06 to play.

“They just went to the big boy the whole game, and on five straight possessions he made a layup,” Wright said of Garza, who hit 15 of 20 from the field on the way to 32 points. “We were at a disadvantage. We were able to hold them for the first three quarters.”

It went to overtime tied at 50, and both teams scored an early bucket to make it 52-52. Then Appo turned the game into Hold the Ball at the Beach.

The Jaguars held the ball for the final 1:51 before turning it over, leading to a second overtime. Then Appo won the tip and held the ball for 3:50 – with the fans’ jeers growing louder by the minute – before calling timeout. Keith Deloatch missed a layup at the buzzer.

Maret missed three shots at the start of the third OT before the Jaguars held the ball for the final 1:50. Then Appo’s Myles Cale (23 points, nine rebounds) fouled out on a charging call on a last-second drive to the basket, and it went to a fourth OT.

The Jaguars missed on a baseline drive with 19 seconds left, and Maret grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 11.7 seconds left. Then Perry ended it with his 3 from the corner.

“It got to the point where every time they got the ball, they scored,” Wright said. “So I said let’s hold the ball, and keep the advantage in our hands. I thought we could probably make a layup at the end of the game.”

Jordan Money led St. Elizabeth with 23 points.

LEWES – Delaware teams were 0-9 against out-of-state opponents since the Slam Dunk to the Beach boys basketball showcase resumed last year, and it looked like that streak would grow in Monday’s opening game when St. Raymond of New York City jumped to an early lead against St. Elizabeth.

Then the Vikings adjusted their defense, and made some history.

St. Elizabeth switched to a matchup zone in the second quarter and scored 16 straight points in one stretch on the way to a 76-69 victory at Cape Henlopen High.

“It’s really great for this program,” said Nate Thomas, who scored 12 points for the Vikings. “We made it deep in the playoffs the past couple of years, but we haven’t been able to get by. So it really means a lot to St. Elizabeth, and to Delaware.”

St. Raymond (6-3) drilled Friendship Collegiate of Washington, D.C., 72-62 on Sunday, and the Ravens were flying high again early Monday. They consistently beat St. Elizabeth in transition on the way to a 23-14 lead after one quarter.

“We knew that our man-to-man probably wasn’t going to do the job, but we wanted to start it that anyway,” Vikings coach Dick Rago said. “I didn’t want to give our kids the feeling that what we do best isn’t going to work.

“… When we went to the matchup, it was successful. It held them back. It took that middle away from them and made them beat us by the 3.”

St. E got within 25-22 when Jordan Money’s shot was goaltended, but St. Raymond stretched the lead back to 32-24 on Lydell Geffard’s 3-pointer with 2:27 left in the first half.

Then the Ravens went 5:47 without a point. Thomas’ 3-pointer gave St. E its first lead at 34-32, and a driving layup and runner in the lane by Elijah Dockery pushed the Vikings ahead 40-32 with 5:24 left in the third quarter.

“We just needed to keep our foot on the pedal,” Thomas said. “We couldn’t slow down. We had to keep going, being the underdog.”

St. E (6-0) kept going, even when the Ravens rallied. St. Raymond pulled within three points three times in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer. Money, who led the Vikings with 23 points, finished it off with two free throws with 12.8 seconds left and a monster dunk at the buzzer.

“We had to play better, focus and get our heads together,” Money said. “We were the underdog, so we had to realize that, play hard and want it more than they did. … We wanted to make a statement that Delaware can compete with out-of-state teams.”

Statement made.

“We’re trying to win respect,” Rago said. “You look around, and every day you see somebody else talking about somebody else. Nobody is talking about St. Elizabeth.

“I tell our kids in the locker room that the only way we’re going win respect is to win. We’re down here, and we’re playing a great team, and we needed a win like this.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Dover’s Michael Douglas gets some air while driving for the basket as Dover HS played Friendship Collegiate Academy from Washington, D.C. at the Slam Dunk to the Beach held at Cape Henlopen HS near Lewes on Monday December 28th.

LEWES – It was not the Slam Dunk to the Beach experience the Dover Senators wanted.

Dover led for most of the second half Monday afternoon, only to see Friendship Collegiate Academy of Washington, D.C., rally for a 53-50 victory at Cape Henlopen High.

Point guard Alani Moore, a Temple signee, made the big plays down the stretch as the Knights improved to 1-3. Dover (3-4) goes home with two losses in two days, but the Senators showed much more intensity than they did in a 77-59 loss to Sanford on Sunday night.

“The way they competed today, you can’t be upset about that,” Dover coach Stephen Wilson said. “I asked them, ‘Can you look in the mirror and say you gave 100 percent,’ and they did. We just didn’t do what we needed to do.”

The Senators trailed 20-16 at the half, but scored the first 12 points of the third quarter. Jordan Allen (21 points) hit a pull-up 15-footer and an NBA-range 3-pointer. Steven Justice stroked a 3 from the left wing, and Terrence Woodlin and Tre’vonne Moore scored on offensive rebounds as Dover surged to a 28-20 lead.

“We were sharing the ball, everybody was playing hard,” Allen said. “We played hard the whole game, but just a couple of missed plays cost us.”

Friendship’s Ike Okwaro and Dover’s Terrence Woodlin fight for the ball as Dover HS played Friendship Collegiate Academy from Washington, D.C. at the Slam Dunk to the Beach held at Cape Henlopen HS near Lewes on Monday December 28th.

The Senators still led 46-39 on two Michael Douglas free throws with 3:28 left, but Friendship began to creep closer. Alani Moore hit a 3-pointer, a driving layup and two free throws, and a 15-footer by the Knights’ Kevon Hines tied it at 49 with 1:05 to play.

“We lost track of Moore a little bit too much at the end,” Wilson said of the 5-foot-9 senior, who finished with 27 points.

Allen’s free throw put Dover back in front with 59.5 seconds to go, but Alani Moore’s driving layup gave Friendship a 51-50 lead with 14.2 seconds left. The Senators turned it over, and Alani Moore made two more foul shots for a 53-50 cushion with 5.2 seconds remaining. Then Allen’s last-second 3-point attempt was partially blocked.

“They played harder today than they did last night,” Wilson said of his team. “I think that they were kind of embarrassed about what happened last night. They needed to come out and have a better showing, and I think they did that.”

On the bright side, the Senators are 3-0 in the Henlopen North, with most of the season still to play.

“All of our goals are still intact,” Wilson said. “To lose two games here doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. We’re upset about it, but we’ve got come back to practice on Wednesday ready to go.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Sussex Central wrestlers stand with the Governor’s Cup trophy awarded to the top finishing Delaware team at the Beast of the East on Dec. 20. The Golden Knights moved into the Division I rankings at No. 3.

THE NEWS JOURNAL/DELAWAREONLINE RANKINGS

BOYS BASKETBALL

1. Mount Pleasant (5-1) 1

2. Sanford (2-1) 3

3. St. Georges (6-0) 2

4. Smyrna (4-0) 5

5. St. Elizabeth (5-0) 6

6. Dover (3-3) 4

7. William Penn (4-1) 7

8. Newark (7-0) 8

9. Salesianum (2-1) 9

10. Hodgson (3-1) 10

GIRLS BASKETBALL

1. Ursuline (4-1) 1

2. St. Elizabeth (3-0) 2

3. Sanford (3-2) 3

4. Concord (5-0) 4

5. Caravel (4-2) 5

6. Dover (3-1) 6

7. William Penn (4-0) 9

8. Sussex Central (3-2) 7

9. Caesar Rodney (3-2) 8

10. Hodgson (2-1) 10

WRESTLING

DIVISION I

1. Smyrna (1-0) 1

2. Caesar Rodney (1-1) 2

3. Sussex Central (2-0) NR

4. Dover (1-0) 4

5. Salesianum (0-0) 5

DIVISION II

1. Milford (2-0) 1

2. Sanford (0-0) 2

3. Hodgson (2-0) 3

4. St. Georges (1-1) 4

5. Caravel (0-0) 5

BOYS SWIMMING

1. Charter of Wilmington (4-0) 1

2. Conrad (3-0) 2

3. Salesianum (2-1) 3

4. Concord (3-1) 4

5. A.I. du Pont (4-0) NR

GIRLS SWIMMING

1. Charter of Wilmington (4-0) 1

2. Ursuline (4-0) 2

3. Archmere (3-0) 3

4. Conrad (2-1) 4

5. Cape Henlopen (5-0) 5

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Jamiyah Dennis transferred from Mount Pleasant to Concord and has become the Raiders’ catalyst at point guard.

Athlete of the Week portrait of Concord High girls basketball player Jamiyah Dennis.

JAMIYAH DENNIS, junior, Concord girls basketball

THE WEEK: Scored 19 points last Monday as the fourth-ranked Raiders battled past No. 5 Caravel on the road, 59-48.

THE GLUE: “My job is to keep the team together,” Dennis said. “I’m the point guard. I control game, make sure all the players go to their spots.”

THE COACH SAYS: “She’s a very talented kid, has a very high basketball IQ,” Concord coach John Armstrong said. “She’s willing to just be part of a team being a success and doing whatever it takes to help the team be a success. I’m pleased with that. I’m pleased with what she has brought to the table.”

THE DEFENSE: Several of Dennis’ points against Caravel came after the Raiders forced turnovers. “We’ve just got to be aggressive, that’s it,” she said. “Our offense is going to come to us, but defense is everything. Defense is the key. Defense wins games.”

THE TRANSFER: Dennis transferred to Concord from Mount Pleasant, where she was the Green Knights’ leading scorer last season. “When you get a transfer, you always wonder how they’re going to fit in coming from a different program,” Armstrong said. “From day one, she’s been a team player. She’s worked hard, waited for her opportunity without a lot of complaining.”

THE TRANSITION: “It was easy,” Dennis said. “I just had to fit in. … Everybody has a position, and they’re true to their position. It’s been fun playing with this team.”

THE ASSISTS: “I feel like I’ve done my job,” Dennis said of making a pass that leads to a basket. “I signed up for a job, and I’ve got to finish that job.”

THE GOAL: The Raiders went 15-7 last year and reached the DIAA quarterfinals before falling to eventual state champion Ursuline. They hope to take at least one more step this season and reach the semifinals at the Bob Carpenter Center. “We’re a good team,” Dennis said. “I plan on seeing all the teams that are ranked higher than us at the Bob, in the Final Four.”

THE CLASSROOM: Dennis said her favorite subject is math, because “I’m good with numbers.”

THE FUTURE: Dennis would like to continue playing basketball in college while studying engineering. She has yet to decide on a destination.

Send Athlete of the Week nominations to bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Mikey Dixon (3), shown here against Salesianum’s Paul Brown last season, will lead Sanford at Slam Dunk to the Beach on Sunday and Monday.

LEWES – Sanford lost.

But the La Lumiere School of La Porte, Indiana – the nation’s No. 2-ranked boys high school basketball team – will remember the night it battled the little team from the little state for a long, long time.

Sanford went face-to-face with the giants for 36 minutes, taking the game to overtime on Monday night before finally falling 67-61 in the Slam Dunk to the Beach showcase at Cape Henlopen High.

“We’re disappointed,” Warriors coach Stan Waterman said. “But I’m extremely proud of the way they played, the way they represented our program and the state of Delaware. That’s the No. 2 team in the country, and we were that close to winning.”

La Lumiere (13-1) played most of the night with a front line measuring 6-foot-11, 6-10 and 6-7. The Lakers outrebounded Sanford 43-31, getting many of their points on putbacks after an initial miss.

“They were huge, and there’s a reason they’re the No. 2 team in the country,” Waterman said. “They’ve got all the pieces. They’ve got size, they’ve got shooters, they’ve got ballhandlers.”

But the scrappy Warriors more than held their own. Quinnipiac signee Mikey Dixon, a 6-2 senior, repeatedly charged down the lane into La Lumiere’s trees and finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

“We’re proud of each other,” Dixon said. “Coach is proud of us, I’m proud of my teammates. But we’re disappointed that we lost. We came that close to a good team.”

The Warriors (2-2), ranked second in Delaware, led 15-13 after one quarter, sending an early message when 6-8 Jacob Walsh dunked after having his initial shot blocked. But the Lakers’ height started to make the difference, as they scored on dunks, tip-ins and offensive rebounds to take a 33-25 lead at the half.

Walsh – Sanford’s only height – went to the bench with three fouls with 4:08 left in the third quarter. Somehow, the Warriors went on a run without him, scoring 12 of the next 16 points. Dixon bombed a 3-pointer from the right wing, turned a fast break into a three-point play and made a free throw to push Sanford ahead 42-40.

Walsh returned and scored a layup, a dunk and two free throws, and Dixon made two foul shots to give the Warriors their biggest lead, 53-45, with 4:42 to play.

“They went on runs, we went on runs,” Dixon said. “The game could have gone either way.”

La Lumiere turned it around with pressure, forcing two turnovers and scoring seven points in 17 seconds to tie it at 55 with 3:02 left.

“They didn’t get rattled,” Dixon said. “They stayed calm, poised, and they came back.”

Dixon missed the front end of a one-and-one with 42 seconds left, but the Lakers missed a point-blank shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied at 57.

The turning point came early in OT. Walsh missed a dunk and fell to the floor, writhing in pain. The Lakers had a five-on-four advantage, and Brian Bowen made a 3-pointer for a 60-57 lead with 3:25 left. Walsh limped to the locker room with an ankle injury and did not return, but after the game Waterman said his big man appears to be OK.

But the Warriors couldn’t recover. Eighth-grader Jyare Davis – amazing all night with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting – scored off his own miss to pull Sanford within 61-59 with 47.5 seconds to go. But James Banks – a 6-10 senior who has signed with Texas – dunked for La Lumiere with 36 seconds left and added two clinching free throws with 18.4 seconds remaining.

“That was a huge play,” Waterman said of Walsh’s injury. “But we had our chances in regulation. We had a five-point lead with a couple of minutes to go, and typically, we close those games out. We didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball.”

Walsh finished with 16 points. Bowen scored 14, Isaiah Coleman-Lands had 13 and Banks added 11 points and 11 rebounds for La Lumiere.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Mount Pleasant’s Kvonn Cramer drives the lane on Tuesday.

Mount Pleasant’s Keon Taylor dives for a loose ball.

Mount Pleasant’s Raheim Burnett drives past St. Elizabeth’s Joe Carrow during Tuesday’s Slam Dunk to the Beach game.

LEWES – Mount Pleasant put it all together on the final day at Slam Dunk to the Beach.

The Green Knights showed why they are Delaware’s top-ranked boys basketball team, dismantling No. 5 St. Elizabeth 65-42 on Tuesday in the annual showcase at Cape Henlopen High.

“I think we played well,” said freshman KVonn Cramer, who led Mount Pleasant with 19 points and nine rebounds. “Plays come from energy. We’ve got to feed off the energy to make the big plays.”

The Green Knights (6-1) were coming off a 53-46 loss to Bishop O’Connell of Arlington, Virginia, on Sunday, and they vented their frustration from the opening tip. The 6-foot-5 Cramer flew down the lane for a monster dunk to cap a 10-0 run and send Mount Pleasant to a 16-6 lead late in the first quarter.

“It gets the team going,” Cramer said. “When I dunk the ball, it brings a lot of energy.”

Robert Myrick kept it rolling in the second quarter, scoring eight straight points for the Green Knights. The 6-1 guard made a layup and two free throws, then blazed down the floor to haul in a long pass from Keon Taylor for a layup. The senior did it again 20 seconds later, turning Sharif Holland’s outlet into another transition bucket for a 24-8 lead.

“That wasn’t part of the plan, but I don’t think they accounted for me,” Myrick said. “As my team rebounded, I just leaked out to get a head start and I was open.”

A 37-25 rebounding advantage allowed Mount Pleasant to run at will.

Green Knights coach Lisa Sullivan focused the defensive attention on St. E star Jordan Money, who scored 23 points on Monday as the Vikings (6-1) became the first Delaware team to beat an out-of-state Slam Dunk opponent with a 76-69 victory over St. Raymond (N.Y.). Myrick and his teammates held the 6-3 junior to 12 points on 4 of 11 shooting Tuesday.

“Stop 23, Jordan Money,” Myrick said. “He’s a good player, a key player, so we had to stop him. She told me to go out there and don’t worry about scoring, just stop him.”

The Green Knights also shared the ball, notching 17 assists in their best performance of the season. Mount Pleasant has nine seniors, many coached by Sullivan for four years, and they are familiar with her strategy.

“They know what it’s going to take,” Sullivan said, whose team reached the DIAA semifinals last year. “They know at the beginning of the season, we’re trying to mix new people in. Let’s be a little patient, let’s build.

“It’s not right now. Winning now is a bonus. I want to win game 21, game 22, game 23, when the [state] tournament starts. We have a goal, and each game leading up to that is just a steppingstone to get us to where we want.”

The Green Knights took a nice step forward at the beach.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson banks in a reverse layup against Appoquinimink on Tuesday night at Slam Dunk to the Beach.

LEWES – Cape Henlopen appeared to be cruising to its first Slam Dunk to the Beach win since the showcase returned to the Vikings’ home floor two years ago.

The Vikings held an 11-point lead with 2:22 to play, but didn’t score again. Appoquinimink took full advantage, reeling off the last 12 points to win 62-61 on Tuesday night in the final game of the three-day, 18-game marathon.

“We talked about character, we talked about playing hard the whole game, we talked about rebounding,” elated Appo coach Steve Wright said. “We talked about doing all the small things, back to the basics. Those are the things that won the game.”

The Jaguars (4-3) did everything right at the end. But Cape coach Stephen Re wasn’t discouraged, even though his team fell to 4-4.

“I’m disappointed,” Re said. “I wouldn’t say frustrated on any level. From a mental point of view and an effort level, everything that we’ve been working on and stressing, we fixed it. We played at a very, very high level tonight.”

The Vikings led most of the way, but it was close through much of the first half. Randy Rickards (15 points, 13 rebounds) scored on back-to-back offensive rebounds and 5-foot-7 Demetrius Price (10 points, 10 rebounds) hit a reverse layup in a 6-0 surge as Cape stretched its lead to 35-28 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

Mount Pleasant dominates St. E at Slam Dunk
Ursuline falls just short in semifinals matchup

Appo couldn’t respond, and two free throws by Ian Robertson (19 points) and another putback by Rickards pushed Cape’s advantage to 61-50 with 2:22 to play.

Then, everything changed.

“Defense, intensity and rebounding,” said Myles Cale, who led Appo with 23 points and seven rebounds. “In the first three quarters, we were not rebounding at all. We were out of it. That really woke us up.”

The Jaguars started hitting on all cylinders, making their last three shots from the field and their last eight foul shots. Kyree Perkins dropped two free throws, and Cale hit a layup off a turnover and added two more free throws to cut the deficit to 61-56 with 1:17 to play.

“We started just believing, going to the rack,” Wright said. “Nobody shot a 3 the whole time. We won the game by stopping the clock, shooting free throws, doing what we’re supposed to do.”

After Cape missed the front end of a one-and-one, Appo’s Keith Deloatch drove for a layup. The Jaguars forced another turnover, and Cale made two free throws to pull his team within 61-60 with 38.1 seconds left.

The Vikings missed two foul shots with 28.3 seconds remaining, and Appo called timeout with 18.1 to go. Assistant coach Eddie Chavis devised an inbounds play, and Cale cut inside to bank in an easy layup for a 62-61 lead with 7 seconds to go.

“Coach drew that up on the board,” Cale said. “We didn’t know it was going to be that open, though. We’ll take that.”

The Vikings missed a 15-foot jumper with 2 seconds left, and Appo held on to complete the miraculous comeback.

“We lost the game literally in the last 1:30 because of our inability to finish the game, converting missed layups and free throws,” Re said. “… Obviously, we let Cale loose on the inbound play when we should have been switching. We had opportunities, we just didn’t make them.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: BradMyersTNJ

Kailyn Kampert scored 12 points for Ursuline on Wednesday.

WILMINGTON – When the Ursuline basketball team arrived at the St. E Center on Wednesday, coach John Noonan knew something wasn’t right.

“I saw it when we they got here,” Noonan said. “I was like, ‘Uh oh. We’ve got some problems.’”

The Raiders were coming off a three-point loss in the semifinals of the Saint Francis Healthcare Cup, the eight-team national bracket at the 25th annual Diamond State Classic. Just 19 hours later, they had to face St. Rose of Belmar, New Jersey, in the third-place game, their third game in four days.

Ursuline’s tank was empty, and it showed in a 47-31 loss to the Purple Roses.

“It was just an energy game, and we didn’t have any energy,” Noonan said. “You could see it in the warmups. You could see it when they announced the names. Their kids had a bounce in their step, they were clapping it up, they were hustling out onto the floor.”

St. Rose was ready from the opening tip, running to a 7-4 lead when Jennifer Louro scored off her own miss and Elizabeth Marsicano beat the Raiders down the floor for a fast-break layup.

The Purple Roses led 16-9 after one quarter and stretched it to 25-13 at the half against the defending DIAA champion Raiders, the only Delaware team to play in Diamond State’s top bracket.

“St. Rose is a tremendous basketball team,” Noonan said. “They shoot it well, they space it well, they have good sets and they have really good players.”

Ursuline (4-3) made a valiant attempt to get back in it, opening the second half on a 12-5 run. Maggie Connolly, Alyssa Irons, Alisha Lewis, Kailyn Kampert and Olivia Mason all scored as the Raiders pulled within 30-25 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

But St. Rose used superior ball movement and long-range shooting to pull away, closing the game on a 17-6 surge. Sophomore Mikayla Markham hit 4 3-pointers and led the Purple Roses with 18 points. Kampert scored 12 for Ursuline.

“I’m not mad at the kids. I’m not angry with them,” Noonan said. “Little disappointed in the effort, but you know, three games in four days, sometimes it happens. We didn’t have it today.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Junior guard Nicole Czechowicz led Caravel with 10 points on Wednesday.

WILMINGTON – Two local teams coming off of frustrating losses in the Diamond State Classic had a chance to feel better about themselves on Wednesday.

Caravel defeated Padua 39-31 in the consolation game of the First State Orthopaedic Cup at the St. E Center, and both coaches felt their teams benefitted.

It was especially rewarding for the Buccaneers (5-3), who lost 61-31 to Seton Keough of Baltimore on Monday. Caravel started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior.

“It’s a talented group, but two of them were playing middle-school basketball last year,” Buccaneers coach Kristin Caldwell said. “Just to get them the game experience against quality opponents that we’ve given them is really valuable. As long as they stay hungry and willing to receive feedback and ready to work, we’re going to be all right.”

Padua (1-5) struggled offensively Monday in a 50-9 loss to Central Bucks East of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and the Pandas missed their first 12 shots Wednesday to fall behind 9-0 after one quarter.

But Megan Mallon finally tore the lid off the basket with a driving layup 20 seconds into the second quarter, and Padua went on a run. Isabella Julian turned a steal into a layup and hit a 3-pointer, and Mackenzie Scully made two free throws to tie it at 9.

“We just had to crack that seal,” Pandas coach Emily Grugan said. “Once we got that one, I knew they were going to start coming. I’m proud of them. I told them not to give up, just keep shooting, keep shooting, they’re going to fall.”

But Caravel scored 10 straight points over a 6½-minute stretch spanning the end of the second quarter and start of the third quarter.

Junior Nicole Czechowicz, who led the Buccaneers with 10 points, hit a baseline jumper to push Caravel’s lead to 27-18 with 59 seconds left in the third quarter. The Pandas could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

“I just came out with the right energy, and my teammates really helped me, picked me up after mistakes,” Czechowicz said. “We just worked really hard.”

Julian led Padua with 11 points, and Mallon added 10.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Mount Pleasant’s Keon Taylor took a tumble while chasing a loose ball against St. Elizabeth on Dec. 29, but the Green Knights remained No. 1 in boys basketball.

THE NEWS JOURNAL/DELAWAREONLINE RANKINGS

BOYS BASKETBALL

1. Mount Pleasant (6-1) 1

2. Sanford (3-2) 2

3. St. Georges (7-0) 3

4. Smyrna (4-0) 4

5. St. Elizabeth (6-1) 5

6. William Penn (4-1) 7

7. Dover (3-4) 6

8. Newark (8-1) 8

9. Salesianum (2-2) 9

10. Hodgson (3-1) 10

GIRLS BASKETBALL

1. Ursuline (4-3) 1

2. St. Elizabeth (5-0) 2

3. Sanford (4-2) 3

4. Concord (7-0) 4

5. Caravel (5-3) 5

6. Dover (4-2) 6

7. William Penn (4-1) 7

8. Sussex Central (5-2) 8

9. Caesar Rodney (5-3) 9

10. Hodgson (4-1) 10

WRESTLING

DIVISION I

1. Smyrna (2-0) 1

2. Caesar Rodney (1-1) 2

3. Sussex Central (2-0) 3

4. Dover (1-0) 4

5. Salesianum (0-0) 5

DIVISION II

1. Milford (2-0) 1

2. Sanford (0-0) 2

3. Hodgson (2-0) 3

4. St. Georges (1-1) 4

5. Caravel (0-0) 5

BOYS SWIMMING

1. Charter of Wilmington (4-0) 1

2. Conrad (3-0) 2

3. Salesianum (2-1) 3

4. Concord (3-1) 4

5. A.I. du Pont (4-0) 5

GIRLS SWIMMING

1. Charter of Wilmington (4-0) 1

2. Ursuline (4-0) 2

3. Archmere (3-0) 3

4. Conrad (2-1) 4

5. Cape Henlopen (5-0) 5

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Mount Pleasant senior shooting guard Robert Myrick is this week’s athlete of the week.

Mount Pleasant senior shooting guard Robert Myrick is this week’s athlete of the week.

Mount Pleasant senior shooting guard Robert Myrick is this week’s athlete of the week.

Mount Pleasant senior shooting guard Robert Myrick is this week’s athlete of the week.

ROB MYRICK, senior, Mount Pleasant boys basketball

THE WEEK: Had eight points, five rebounds and four steals in Mount Pleasant’s 53-46 loss to Bishop O’Connell (Va.) on Dec. 27 at Slam Dunk to the Beach. Came back with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in the top-ranked Green Knights’ 65-42 win over No. 5 St. Elizabeth last Tuesday at the Slam.

THE LOSS: “I think we needed that loss, for us to bounce back and get a better bond,” Myrick said. “If we keep winning, everybody would have a big head and think we can’t be beaten. But that loss was good for us, to bounce back as strong as we did [against St. Elizabeth].”

THE COACH SAYS: “Rob is our heart and soul. I’ve told him that since his ninth-grade year,” Mount Pleasant coach Lisa Sullivan said. “It takes a long time for him to lower that wall and let you in. But when you get in there, you’re good. He’s going to take care of you, he’s going to stay loyal.”

THE VERSATILITY: “I can play every position, from a 1 to a 5,” Myrick said. “Lisa has me playing power forward, boxing out, all of that. It makes me tougher, aggressive. I attack the rim harder.”

THE WILL: “Rob does everything,” Sullivan said. “He can run the point, he plays every position, he can defend every position. If I say, ‘Rob, please don’t score today, focus on taking your man out of it,’ he won’t even look to score. All he wants to do is win.”

THE TOP RANKING: The Green Knights (6-1), who return most of a 21-3 team that reached the state semifinals last year, have been ranked No. 1 all season. “I enjoy it, but it’s also a target on our back,” Myrick said. “I just want to get to game 21 [the postseason], win that and keep going.”

THE CLASSROOM: “My favorite subject is English,” Myrick said. “The teacher, Miss [Robyn] Howton, she has helped me a lot. I struggled in English, but she has always helped me.”

THE FUTURE: The 6-foot-1 Myrick was third team All-State in football as a wide receiver after catching 30 passes for 644 yards and seven touchdowns in the fall. He has received football recruiting interest from Delaware, Tennessee and Delaware State, but has yet to make a college commitment. He would like to play football and run track in college while studying architecture.

Send Athlete of the Week nominations to bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Sanford’s Jacob Walsh outmuscles three Dover defenders for a basket on Dec. 27 during the opening day at Slam Dunk to the Beach at Cape Henlopen High School.

Slam Dunk to the Beach again brought many of the nation’s top high school boys basketball players and teams to Cape Henlopen High. And this time, in the showcase’s second year, Delaware teams made a bigger impact.

The three-day, 18-game hoops marathon drew 12,017 fans to Lewes, an increase of almost 2,000 over last year’s inaugural event. And the Delaware Sports Commission announced last Wednesday that Slam Dunk will return again next season.

Another group of Delaware teams will take on the nation’s best, but it will be difficult to top the showing of the six First State teams who took the court last week. No Delaware team came closer than 10 points against an out-of-state opponent last season, but that futility ended last Monday when St. Elizabeth knocked off St. Raymond of New York City, 76-69.

“Every time we’re dealing with recruiters, they always question the caliber of total play in Delaware,” St. E coach Dick Rago said after the win. “I get tired of hearing that. The play in Delaware is getting much, much better, and I think we proved that today. Not just at St. Elizabeth, but everywhere.”

Mikey Dixon pumped in a career-high 39 points as Sanford dominated Dover 77-59 to cap Slam Dunk’s first night. Then the Warriors came within a whisker of knocking off La Lumiere of La Porte, Ind., before falling 65-61 in overtime last Monday.

“We’re disappointed,” Warriors coach Stan Waterman said. “But I’m extremely proud of the way they played, the way they represented our program and the state of Delaware. That’s the No. 2 team in the country, and we were that close to winning.”

La Lumiere boasted a 6-foot-11, 6-10, 6-7 front line and came into the event ranked No. 2 nationally in the maxpreps.com Xcellent 25. The Lakers tumbled all the way to 16th after struggling against Sanford and falling to St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.), which jumped all the way from unranked to No. 9 this week.

Dixon repeated his career high two days later in a different venue, again scoring 39 as Sanford knocked off West Charlotte, N.C., 84-72 at the Governors Challenge in Salisbury, Md.

Mount Pleasant, Delaware’s top-ranked team, learned as much off the court as the Green Knights did while playing at Slam Dunk. Mount suffered its first loss of the season 53-46 to Bishop O’Connell of Arlington, Va., but bounced back with a 65-42 victory over St. Elizabeth on the final day last Tuesday.

“Just sitting in the stands and watching the other teams play, seeing what they do,” Green Knights coach Lisa Sullivan said. “The biggest thing is, watch how they behave. Somebody makes a mistake, it’s not the end of the world.

“You’re talking about a lot of Division I talent, and some kids that are going to wind up in the NBA. Look at how they adjust. It’s just next play, next man up, let’s make the best out of this situation. Just play through it and see what happens.”

Some individuals may have boosted their recruiting profiles, too, as the event was attended by dozens of coaches at all levels of the college game.

Appoquinimink’s Myles Cale, a 6-foot-4 junior, said he is already receiving strong interest from Seton Hall, Xavier and La Salle. It may pick up even more after he had 23 points and nine rebounds in a four-overtime, 55-52 loss to Maret School of Washington, D.C., and 23 points and seven boards in a come-from-behind, 62-61 win over Cape Henlopen in Slam Dunk’s finale.

“It’s just an honor to be on this big stage in high school,” Cale said. “Usually, you get it during the AAU season. But in high school, this is a good environment.”

Sullivan can’t wait to come back with another Mount Pleasant team.

“The whole experience, staying at a hotel, bonding,” she said. “I hope they never change it. I would pay to be here. I think it’s that important.”

Heating up the track

The Newark boys and Padua girls earned the team titles at N5CTA’s first Winter Series indoor track meet on Sunday at Haverford (Pa.) College, but it was a close one for the Pandas.

The defending DIAA indoor girls champions edged Charter of Wilmington 98-96. Smyrna (59) was third, followed by Tatnall (46) and Ursuline (37).

Padua’s only individual victories came in two field events, as Christina Allen won the long jump and Marie Soja took the shot put. The Force got wins from Erin Jackson (800 meters) and Asaana Shamlin (high jump), and the Charter foursome of Sophia Gulotti, Jackson, Addie Shealy and Shamlin won the 4×400-meter relay.

Jameela Buchanan of Smyrna was the only girls double winner, sweeping the 200 and 400. Other girls winners were Najiya Cornish of Ursuline (55 meters), Isabelle Pilson of Tower Hill (1,600), Keelin Hays of Tatnall (3,200), A’Lexus Irons of A.I. du Pont (55-meter hurdles) and Shantell Kargbeh of Smyrna (triple jump).

Middletown (4×200) and Newark Charter (4×800) took the other girls relays.

In the boys team race, Newark scored an even 100 points to easily outdistance St. Georges (79). Howard (41) was third, followed by Tatnall (39), Glasgow (38) and Smyrna (37).

The Yellowjackets got individual wins from Chidera Egeonu (200 meters) and Charles Leonard (shot put), and the quartet of Curtis Biah, Gregory Biddle, Karim Dunn and Clayton Hansen took the 4×400-meter relay.

Michah Joseph-Young of St. Georges was the only double winner among boys, sweeping the 55-meter hurdles and triple jump. Other boys winners were Ja’Saan Cunningham of Glasgow (55 meters), Zaire Hermon of Howard (400), Chris Avila of Charter of Wilmington (800), Brendan Balthis (1,600) and Noah McFoy (3,200) of Tatnall, Tahaire Riley of A.I. du Pont (high jump) and Moses Carter of Smyrna (long jump).

Glasgow (4×200) and Charter (4×800) won the other boys relays.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Appoquinimink junior Keith DeLoatch draws the blocking foul on Mount Pleasant senior Ronald Shipman-Scott with 3.8 seconds left. DeLoatch hit one of two free throws as the Jaguars upset No. 1 Mount Pleasant 55-54 on Tuesday night at Appoquinimink.

Appoquinimink senior Kristian Alexander goes up for a layup in the second quarter against Mount Pleasant. Appoquinimink upsets No. 1 Mount Pleasant 55-54 at Appoquinimink Tuesday.

Mount Pleasant senior Robert Myrick waits as Appoquinimink junior Keith DeLoatch prepares to shoot two free throws with 3.8 seconds left in the game. DeLoatch would make one as Appoquinimink upsets No. 1 Mount Pleasant 55-54 at Appoquinimink Tuesday.

MIDDLETOWN – With the score tied and Keith DeLoatch stepping to the line for two free throws with 3.8 seconds left, Appoquinimink boys basketball coach Steve Wright delivered a reassuring message.

“A lot was going through my mind,” DeLoatch said. “My coach pulled me over to the side and told me that he’s with me, and God is with me. Right off the bat, when he said that, I knew I was going to hit the free throw.”

DeLoatch missed the first, to drop to 1 for 5 on the night. But the junior’s second foul shot hit the front of the rim and the back of the rim, then dropped through. A half-court heave by Mount Pleasant’s Raheim Burnett barely missed at the buzzer, and Appoquinimink upset the No. 1-ranked Green Knights 55-54 at home Tuesday night.

“I told him God is with him, and the whole team is with him,” Wright said of his words to DeLoatch. “I said, ‘Look, there’s no pressure on us. The pressure is on them. You’ve got two free throws, just make one.’”

He made the second, and that was enough. The Jaguars went 9-1 in games decided by five points or less last year on the way to an 18-4 season that ended in the state quarterfinals. But this year, Appo faltered late in early-season losses to Hodgson and A.I. du Pont.

That trend is reversing, as the Jaguars (5-3, 2-1 Blue Hen Flight A) scored the last 12 points to overcome Cape Henlopen 62-61 a week ago. And now, they have a signature win to start 2016.

“We’re putting it together,” Wright said. “We’re working on some situational things in practice, and we’re getting there. The kids are seeing their mistakes and turning them into positives.”

Mount Pleasant (6-2, 1-1) returns most of a team that went 21-3 and reached the state semifinals last season. The Green Knights got off to a good start on Tuesday, hitting 8 of 11 from the field on the way to a 17-10 lead after one quarter. But they couldn’t sustain the momentum.

“They played hard. Appo wants Flight A, just like we do,” Mount Pleasant coach Lisa Sullivan said. “They want the state tournament, just like we do. Each game is a steppingstone, and we’ll get better every game.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to lose a game to learn from it. Hopefully, we learned a lesson today.”

Mount Pleasant led 32-25 at the half, and 44-38 after three quarters. But foul trouble began to take its toll on the Green Knights. Their two tallest players – 6-foot-4 junior DeJon Backus and 6-foot-5 freshman KVonn Cramer – fouled out with 5:38 and 4:19 to play, respectively.

“We’ve never had size before, so I can’t use that as an excuse,” Sullivan said. “We made a lot of mistakes.”

A free throw by Kristian Alexander gave Appo its first lead since the first quarter at 49-48. But Burnett, who led Mount Pleasant with 22 points, made two free throws and a fast-break layup to push the Green Knights back ahead 52-49 with 2:55 left.

The Jaguars battled back to tie it at 54, and inbounded for a final play with 15.2 seconds to go. DeLoatch went down the lane and drew a blocking foul with 3.8 left, and he scored the winning point.

“I just took my time, bent my knees, and when I released the ball I knew it was going to go in,” DeLoatch said. “… It means a lot to me. Knocking off the No. 1 team in the state is always a great feeling.”

Alexander led Appo with 17 points, and Myles Cale added 16. The Jaguars enjoyed a big advantage in free throws, hitting 22 of 39 to Mount Pleasant’s 9 of 18.

“It’s a great win,” Alexander said. “We’ve just got to stay focused and stay humble. We’ve got to work on a few things, because we didn’t rebound that well, but it’s a great win.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Concord’s Caroline Procak (20) puts up a shot under pressure from Caravel’s Grace Lange on Dec. 21. The Raiders have won eight of their eight games by at least 11 points.

Basketball is a five-person game, so losing two of your best players at the same time can be devastating.

The Concord girls have played their last five games without injured senior guard Holly Panchak, and their last four games without injured sophomore guard Z’hane Snow. But the Raiders are surviving – even thriving – after receiving a major boost from another guard on the way to an 8-0 start.

Panchak was averaging 13.7 points through three games, and Snow was averaging 12.3 points through four games. Without them, Aahliyah Selby has taken her game to another level.

“I’ve been around a long time, and I would venture to say there isn’t a better pure shooter than her in the whole state of Delaware right now,” Raiders coach John Armstrong said of Selby. “Handle, score, steals, anticipation, she has done everything.”

The junior is averaging 16.5 points per game, but has scored at a 21.4 clip over her last five games. That includes a 20-point performance in which she went 10-for-10 from the field in a 66-48 victory over Woodbridge on Dec. 29.

“She’s been tremendous,” Armstrong said. “Just solid and stone-faced and getting it done for us. Without her, we would have had a couple of losses by now.”

Both Panchak and Snow are expected to return in the next 10 days.

“When we get them back, I think we’re going to be really strong contenders,” Armstrong said. “We’ve been able to hold the fort so far while they’ve been coming back.”

The fourth-ranked Raiders have won every game by at least 11 points. They will likely be favored in each remaining game until Feb. 23 – their regular-season finale at No. 1 Ursuline.

“I tell them, ‘Don’t look forward to that. You’ve got to take it one game at a time,’” Armstrong said. “This is the time that if you’re not paying attention, a team that on paper is not supposed to beat you can sneak up on you and give you a loss.”

Long way to go

The Cape Henlopen boys basketball team is 4-5, and takes a four-game losing streak into Friday night’s game at No. 4 Smyrna. But the Vikings’ losses have come to Concord in overtime, Appoquinimink, Dover and tough Maryland opponents Arundel and Bishop McNamara.

“Because of the schedule that we constantly have, our records are never as good as people think,” Cape coach Stephen Re said. “But we’ve been in the [state] tournament every single year, and we make noise when we get in there. I know this team is going to get better as the year goes on.”

The Vikings have won at least one DIAA tournament game in six of the last nine years, and reached the semifinals in 2014.

Rounding it up

— The St. Mark’s boys basketball team spent four days at Disney’s All-Star Resort in Orlando, Florida, and played in the annual KSA Holiday Tournament. The Spartans (6-1) lost to Cypress, California, 38-37 on Dec. 29, but bounced back to defeat Ichabod Crane of Valatie, New York, 38-30 the next day.

— St. Elizabeth was the only Delaware school to win one of the four brackets as the 25th annual Diamond State Classic girls basketball tournament wrapped up last week at the St. E Center. The Vikings defeated Caesar Rodney 51-46 in the Delaware Cup final.

Neumann-Goretti of Philadelphia defeated Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) 47-36 in the championship game of the St. Francis Healthcare Cup, the tournament’s eight-team national bracket. Seton Keough (Md.) edged Central Bucks East (Pa.) 37-33 in the First State Orthopaedic Cup final, and Oxford (Pa.) nipped William Penn 30-28 for the New Castle Insurance Cup championship.

— Malvern Prep (Pa.) dominated a 15-team field in the annual Battle at the Beach wrestling tournament last week at Indian River. The Friars won eight of the 14 weight classes and scored 280 points to easily outdistance runner-up Milford (194½). Sussex Central was a close third with 191 points.

Milford had three individual champions – Robbie Rosser at 106 pounds, Bart Dalious at 145 and Bryan Wynes at 285. Sussex Central’s Lucas Hudson took the title at 170.

— Division I top-ranked Smyrna put a feather in the cap of Delaware wrestling by edging the McDonogh School 31-28 in a dual meet last week in Owings Mills, Maryland. The Eagles got victories from Dakota Kerr, Kalen Wilson, Larsen Wilson, Hunter Moyer, Tony Wuest, Terren Carter and Chase Archangelo. It marked the second straight year the Eagles topped McDonogh, as they won 33-30 last season in Smyrna.

— Lyle Hemphill, a 1988 St. Elizabeth graduate and the son of former longtime St. E football coach Joe Hemphill, has been named FCS Defensive Coordinator of the Year by FootballScoop. Lyle Hemphill just completed his fifth season at Stony Brook, which led FCS in total defense (250.1 yards per game allowed) this season.

— Tickets for Saturday’s four Concord at Brandywine basketball games will be pre-sold only at both schools on Thursday and Friday in the cafeterias from 10:45 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. No tickets will be sold at the door. Junior varsity girls will tip off at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by junior varsity boys at 10:15, varsity girls at noon and varsity boys at 1:30 p.m.

— Tickets for Tuesday’s Howard at Mount Pleasant boys basketball game will be pre-sold only at both schools on Monday and Tuesday. No tickets will be sold at the door. Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for students.

— A.I. du Pont is seeking a head coach for boys tennis and assistant coaches for boys lacrosse and track and field. Send resumes to athletic director Mark Alley at mark.alley@redclay.k12.de.us by noon Friday.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

William Penn’s Ny’Jere Hodges drives to the basket in the second half of William Penn’s 47-28 win over Newark at William Penn High School on Thursday night.

Newark’s Michael Drumgo-Sharpe puts up a shot through a group of William Penn defenders in the second half of William Penn’s 47-28 win over Newark at William Penn High School on Thursday night.

William Penn’s Ny’Jere Hodges puts up a shot in the second half of William Penn’s 47-28 win over Newark at William Penn High School on Thursday night.

Newark’s Brendan Sherman has his shot rejected by William Penn’s Mailk Hines in the first half of William Penn’s 47-28 win over Newark at William Penn High School on Thursday night.

NEW CASTLE– Balanced scoring, solid defense and good free-throw shooting can take a basketball team a long way.

The William Penn boys checked all of those boxes on Thursday night, and the result was an easier-than-expected, 47-28 home victory over Newark.

The sixth-ranked Colonials (6-1, 4-0 Blue Hen Flight A) held the eighth-ranked Yellowjackets (8-3, 2-1) to 22.5 points under their season average. Newark hit just 8 of 34 (23.5 percent) from the field.

“We really played great defense tonight,” said William Penn’s Jermal Crumel, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. “They were a great, high-scoring team and we held them below average. In our book, that’s a great win for us.”

The Yellowjackets hit only 1 of 13 from 3-point range, and had 17 points through three quarters.

“Our defensive goal is under 10 points each quarter,” said Danny Walsh, who scored 11 for the Colonials. “We did a lot more than that tonight.”

William Penn put four scorers in double figures, as Markee Johnson added 11 points and Ny’Jere Hodges chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds. And the Colonials shot a season-high 80.8 percent (21 of 26) from the free-throw line.

“We’re 50 percent on the season until tonight, and we were 80 percent tonight,” William Penn coach Steve Christensen said. “We spent a lot of time over the holiday break working on it, and it finally paid off.

“The guys were extremely excited about it. We wrote the number on the board after the game, and they were all fired up.”

The Colonials scored the game’s first six points, as Johnson hit two free throws, Crumel scored on an offensive rebound and Walsh banged in a baseline jumper.

Then Walsh added a floater in the lane, Johnson dropped two more foul shots and Absalom Bowling scored on a layup as William Penn took a 12-4 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter.

“They started out playing man, and we thought they would play zone,” Johnson said. “We had to adjust. When we figured out the zone, we ran our plays and just played hard.”

The Colonials led 22-13 at the half, and 29-17 after three quarters. Then they kept hitting free throws to extend the margin.

William Penn is holding opponents to 39.1 points per game, second in the state behind St. Mark’s (33.4). That could serve the Colonials well heading into three road games next week – at No. 5 St. Elizabeth (Tuesday), Sussex Tech (Thursday) and Glasgow (Jan. 16).

“We’re hanging our hat on that right now,” Christensen said of his team’s defense. “We have our ups and downs offensively. But we told them if we can stick with our defense for 32 minutes, it will give us a chance to win every game.”

Brendan Sherman scored nine points for Newark, which lost its third straight after an 8-0 start.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Cape Henlopen coach Stephen Re motivates his team between the first and second quarters. The Vikings rallied for a 47-46 victory at Smyrna on Friday night.

SMYRNA – After a horrendous first quarter, Cape Henlopen’s starting five came within a whisker of taking a seat for the rest of the night.

“We weren’t really fighting hard for the win, and [coach Stephen Re] said he was just going to sub us all out and we weren’t going to play anymore if we kept it up,” the Vikings’ Ian Robertson said. “That really got us going.”

Cape Henlopen turned it up a notch, took the lead with a huge run and barely held on at the end to hand Smyrna its first loss, 47-46, in a key Henlopen North boys basketball game Friday night.

The Vikings (5-5, 4-1) broke a four-game losing streak. But it looked bleak when they were trailing 13-5 after one quarter.

“I asked them, ‘When are you going to get tired of losing?’” Re said. “You know me, I’m extremely intense, and I can’t stand it.”

The Cape starters stood up after the scolding and responded with a 13-0 run. Robertson hit a layup, and Randy Rickards drove for a score and dunked on a fast break. Jerry Harden bombed a 3-pointer from the left wing, Rasheed Woods turned Robertson’s rebound into a fast break score, and Woods and Rickards each hit a free throw to push the Vikings to an 18-15 lead with 2:32 left in the first half.

“When we compete with the right energy and we play together, you can do anything,” Re said. “You can beat anybody if you’ve got the right mindset.”

Sophomore Ian Robertson led Cape Henlopen with 17 points, including three 3-pointers.

Cape led 23-20 at the half, and 34-31 after three quarters. Woods’ 3-pointer from the right wing extended the margin to 45-38 with 1:38 to play, but the fourth-ranked Eagles (5-1, 3-1) mustered a rally.

Donte Ritchie scored on a putback and Ja’vier Worthy drove for two layups to pull Smyrna within 47-44 with 17.1 seconds remaining. Robertson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15.9 to go, and Worthy drove for another layup to make it 47-46.

Robertson again went to the line for a one-and-one with 4.1 seconds left. He missed, but got a hand on Ritchie’s heave from three-quarters court at the buzzer to preserve Cape’s win.

“I went up and I deflected it,” Robertson said. “It probably could have been a foul, but the ref didn’t call it.”

Robertson, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, led the Vikings with 17 points. Rickards added 10 points and 10 rebounds while fighting a game-long cramp in his right leg.

“Ian hit some huge shots,” Re said. “He was terrific tonight. He missed a couple of free throws at the end, but he played well on both ends of the floor.”

Worthy led the Eagles with 20 points, 18 of them coming in the final 10 minutes as Smyrna fought furiously to catch up. But the Eagles hit only 2 of 21 3-point attempts.

After a 58-57 win at William Penn on Dec. 10, Smyrna’s last three wins had come by at least 16 points.

“Coach Re always has a solid, disciplined team that’s going to fight you for four quarters,” Eagles coach Andrew Mears said. “We knew what we were going to get. It was just our first look at true adversity, and I don’t think we stepped up to the challenge.”

Re called the win “a huge step forward.” The Vikings lost to top-flight Maryland opponents Arundel and Bishop McNamara and two of Delaware’s best – Appoquinimink and Dover – during a brutal stretch. Now, Cape has eight of its last 10 games at home.

“It’s going to be huge for our confidence,” Robertson said. “Especially coming off a tough loss, a bad loss, against Dover [70-51] on Tuesday. This game will really help us going through the season.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Salesianum’s Riley Montgomery (left) and William Penn’s Tim Dooley circle each other before Montgomery won by pin in the title match at 285 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Caravel’s Keith Medley (left) wrestles Newark’s Nazr Roberson before Medley won by 6-4 decision in the title match at 220 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

John Morris of Sussex Central (top) works for a 7-5 decision against Myles Goodson of William Penn in the title match at 195 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Salesianum’s Joe Miller (right) and Sussex Tech’s Colin Bergh eye each other before Miller won by pin in the title match at 182 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Avery Mayan of Polytech wins by 2-1 decision against Lucas Hudson of Sussex Central in the title match at 170 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Caravel’s Josh Dailey (left) wrestles Sussex Central’s Blake Chambers before winning by 6-4 decision in the title match at 160 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Sussex Central’s Brandon Bautista (right) gets a technical fall against Sussex Tech’s Kris Cannon, 17-2, in the title match at 152 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Sussex Central’s Justin Bennett moves toward a win by 6-4 decision against A.I. du Pont’s Jamier Schaener in the title match at 145 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

William Penn’s Alex Haber (top) moves to a pin against Sussex Central’s Max Tolson in the title match at 138 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Ryan Loose of Delaware Military (right) wrestles on his way to a 10-6 decision against Sussex Central’s Hayden McCabe in the title match at 120 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Shane Cawman of Delaware Military Academy (top) wins by 6-4 decision over Spenser Hahn of Polytech in the title match at 113 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Nick Barnhart of Caravel (left) wrestles before winning by default against William Penn’s Ryan Juarez-Robertson in the title match at 132 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

BELVEDERE – The Sussex Central wrestling team tried some new things at the Delcastle Invitational.

Most of them worked.

The Golden Knights placed 13 wrestlers in the semifinals, got eight to the finals and won four weight classes on the way to a dominating victory on Saturday. Sussex Central piled up 288 points to easily outdistance Salesianum (184), Delaware Military Academy (181½), William Penn (180) and Polytech (177½) at the top of the 16-team field.

Rashad Stratton of Sussex Central (top) works toward a win against William Penn’s Thien Nguyen in the title match at 126 pounds during the Delcastle Invitational Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

“The good thing we pulled away from this tournament is that we’ve been teaching some new concepts, and the guys are starting to buy into them,” Golden Knights coach Phil Shultie said. “They were doing them today and yesterday. That was worth the whole thing.

“Too many times, we come here and we do the same, exact moves we’ve been doing the whole year. We just needed to add a few new things.”

Sussex Central’s Justin Bennett had all he could handle against Jamier Schaener in the 145-pound final. The A.I. du Pont wrestler forced the action most of the way, but Bennett held him off for a 6-4 decision.

“He was quick and aggressive, so I stayed more back on my feet, let him do his thing,” Bennett said. “Basically, I waited for him to make a minor mistake and then I counter-reacted to that. He would charge into me, and I would just push out the arms, take my double leg and take him down.”

The Golden Knights also got titles from Rashad Stratton (126 pounds), Brandon Bautista (152) and John Morris (195). The Sussex Central wrestlers who lost benefitted, too.

“This is where you make your mistakes,” Shultie said. “This is why we do these tournaments, so we can get ready for the conference and state tournaments. But overall, I’m very happy with the way we wrestled today.”

Polytech’s Avery Mayan turned the tables on one of the Golden Knights at 170. Sussex Central’s Lucas Hudson pinned Mayan in the Milford Invitational final and won by decision in the Battle at the Beach final at Indian River last month. But this time, Mayan changed his strategy and grinded out a 2-1 decision.

“This is a really big win for me. It should rank me higher in the state,” Mayan said. “I didn’t tie up, because he’s a lot stronger than me. I wrestled a bit more defensive, and I waited for him to shoot. It was awesome.”

William Penn’s Alex Haber went to his bread-and-butter move to pin Sussex Central’s Max Tolson in 4:08 in the 138 final.

“I used a cradle,” Haber said. “I set it up. I crossfaced him hard, and as he stood up on his leg I got it.

“That’s my favorite move. It’s very hard to defend. When I get it, I get it.”

Joe Miller of Salesianum pinned all three of his opponents at 182 to earn the meet’s outstanding wrestler honor. Sallies teammate Riley Montgomery won the 285 final by pin for his 100th career victory.

Caravel had three individual winners – Nick Barnhart at 132, Josh Dailey at 160 and Keith Medley at 220. DMA got wins from Shane Cawman at 113 and Ryan Loose at 120, and Polytech’s Austin Price started the finals with a victory at 106.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.

Delcastle Invitational

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

106 – Austin Price, Poly, dec. Zach Spence, Sal, 4-1; 113 – Shane Cawman, DMA, dec. Spenser Hahn, Poly, 6-4; 120 – Ryan Loose, DMA, dec. Hayden McCabe, SC, 10-6; 126 – Rashad Stratton, SC, maj. dec. Thien Nguyen, WP, 8-0; 132 – Nick Barnhart, Car, by default over Ryan Juarez-Robertson, WP; 138 – Alex Haber, WP, pinned Tolson, SC, 4:08; 145 – Justin Bennett, SC, dec. Jamier Schaener, AI, 6-4; 152 – Brandon Bautista, SC, tech. fall Kris Cannon, ST, 17-2 (2:25); 160 – Josh Dailey, Car, dec. Blake Chambers, SC, 6-4; 170 – Avery Mayan, Poly, dec. Lucas Hudson, SC, 2-1; 182 – Joe Miller, Sal, pinned Colin Bergh, ST, 3:20; 195 – John Morris, SC, dec. Myles Goodson, WP, 7-5; 220 – Keith Medley, Car, dec. Nazr Roberson, New, 6-4; 285 – Riley Montgomery, Sal, pinned Tim Dooley, WP, 2:43.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

106 – Pike, WP, tech. fall Perez, SC, 16-1 (3:35); 113 – Rispoli, WP, maj. dec. Hamil, New, 11-2; 120 – LaMarche, Del, dec. McCurnin, Arch, 3-1; 126 – DiEdoardo, Car, dec. O’Connor, Del, 7-2; 132 – Morris, SC, pinned Deneunmaistier, Poly, 2:56; 138 – Hatfield, ST, dec. Harris, Poly, 3-1; 145- Morgan, DMA, dec. Schaefer, Car, 6-3; 152- Hanley, Sal, pinned Howell, DMA, 3:26; 160 – McCove, Poly, dec. Chin-A-Loy, Conr, 11-5; 170 – L. Montgomery, Sal, dec. Riley, DMA, 4-3; 182 – Wright, SC, by default over Twyman, WP; 195 – Adams, Car, dec. Spady, ST, 15-12; 220 – Scalia, DMA, dec. Santizo, SC, 8-3; 285 – Somerville, AI, dec. Cruz, SC, 4-0.

Team scores: 1. Sussex Central 288, 2. Salesianum 184, 3. DMA 181 ½; 4. William Penn 180, 5. Polytech 177 ½; 6. Caravel 166; 7. Sussex Tech 133; 8. Delcastle 106; 9. Archmere 95; 10. A.I. du Pont 69 ½; 11. Newark 59 ½; 12. Conrad 51; 13. Brandywine 45 ½; 14. Glasgow 31 ½; 15. St. Andrew’s 24; 16. McKean 22.

Sanford’s Jyare Davis (left) guards Dover’s Troy Scott at Slam Dunk to the Beach on Dec. 27 at Cape Henlopen. Sanford has moved up to No. 1 in The News Journal’s boys basketball rankings.

THE NEWS JOURNAL/DELAWAREONLINE RANKINGS

BOYS BASKETBALL

1. Sanford (6-2) 2

2. St. Georges (9-0) 3

3. Mount Pleasant (7-2) 1

4. St. Elizabeth (7-1) 5

5. Smyrna (5-1) 4

6. William Penn (6-1) 6

7. Dover (6-3) 7

8. Appoquinimink (6-2) NR

9. St. Mark’s (7-1) NR

10. Salesianum (3-3) 9

GIRLS BASKETBALL

1. Ursuline (6-3) 1

2. Sanford (6-3) 3

3. St. Elizabeth (6-1) 2

4. Concord (10-0) 4

5. Caravel (6-3) 5

6. William Penn (6-1) 7

7. Caesar Rodney (7-3) 9

8. Hodgson (6-1) 10

9. Sussex Central (5-3) 8

10. Milford (9-1) NR

WRESTLING

DIVISION I

1. Smyrna (7-2) 1

2. Sussex Central (3-0) 3

3. Caesar Rodney (2-1) 2

4. Salesianum (0-0) 5

5. William Penn (3-1) NR

DIVISION II

1. Milford (3-0) 1

2. Sanford (0-0) 2

3. Hodgson (4-0) 3

4. St. Georges (1-1) 4

5. Caravel (1-1) 5

BOYS SWIMMING

1. Conrad (5-0) 2

2. Salesianum (3-1) 3

3. Charter of Wilmington (5-1) 1

4. Concord (5-1) 4

5. Mount Pleasant (5-1) NR

GIRLS SWIMMING

1. Charter of Wilmington (6-0) 1

2. Ursuline (4-0) 2

3. Archmere (5-0) 3

4. Conrad (4-1) 4

5. Cape Henlopen (6-0) 5

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Raheim Burnett will lead third-ranked Mount Pleasant against American History of Newark, N.J., next Monday at the Concord Classic boys basketball showcase.

Concord boys basketball coach Ralph Flowers has worked to improve the Concord Classic in each of its five years, and this season’s event has reached a new peak.

Five teams ranked among Delaware’s top 10 will participate in the two-day, seven-game showcase. Each game will match a Delaware team against an out-of-state opponent over three sessions on Saturday and Monday.

“We’ve had a great response from the coaches, and they all tell me they enjoy it,” Flowers said. “It gives them a good test before the playoffs start, and it gives them a chance to play a team that they might not normally play.”

The action starts at 2 p.m. Saturday as Concord hosts Flint Hill of Oakton, Va., which is 2-9 against a very tough schedule and has never lost in three trips to this event. Then fifth-ranked Smyrna (5-1) will follow against East Orange (N.J.) Campus (5-3) at 4.

Monday’s first session begins with Brandywine against West Chester (Pa.) East at 10 a.m. Then No. 6 William Penn will meet perhaps the toughest out-of-state opponent at 11:45, as Westinghouse of Brooklyn is 8-1 and ranked 26th in New York by maxpreps.com. Third-ranked Mount Pleasant will wrap up Monday’s first session at 1:30 p.m. against American History of Newark, N.J.

Then the gym will be cleared, and a separate ticket will be required for Monday’s second session. It will begin at 4:30 with No. 2 St. Georges against Our Saviour Lutheran of Bronx, N.Y., followed by 10th-ranked Salesianum taking on Downingtown East (Pa.) at 5:45.

All of the action will be at Concord High’s small gym, which often sells out, especially for the Monday sessions. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children per session, and proceeds benefit Coaches vs. Cancer and Concord’s boys basketball program.

Milestone for Jones

Hodgson girls basketball coach Chris Jones reached 200 career victories last Thursday when the Silver Eagles downed Glasgow 62-28.

“I’ve been blessed for 12 years with girls who are willing to listen to me and learn how to play the game of basketball,” said Jones, who has compiled a 200-62 record, all at Hodgson. “I’m really humbled by it.”

The Silver Eagles are exceptionally young this year, with three freshmen – Ja-naiah Perkins-Jackson and twin sisters Kayla and Korryn Braxton-Young – in the starting lineup. But eighth-ranked Hodgson (6-1) has won six straight since losing its season opener to No. 7 Caesar Rodney.

“We’re coming along pretty well,” Jones said. “It’s a process. We have seven freshmen on varsity, and three of them are starting. They’re learning a lot, and I’m asking a lot of them.”

Wrestling recap

Top-ranked Smyrna, Delaware’s three-time defending DIAA Division I team champion, went 3-2 in the national high school bracket at the prestigious Virginia Duals over the weekend in Hampton, Va.

The Eagles (7-2) started the 16-team tournament with a 33-30 loss to South Plainfield (N.J.). Smyrna rallied to defeat Ocean Lakes (Va.) 67-6, McDonogh (Md.) 45-14 and Independence (W. Va.) 35-27 before falling to Colonial Forge (Va.) 36-20 in the consolation semifinals. Eagles senior Kalen Wilson picked up his 100th career victory during the event.

St. Georges, ranked fourth in Division II, finished fourth to be the top Delaware team in the 20-team Battle of the Bridge tournament at Bohemia Manor in Chesapeake City, Md.

St. Georges’ Nick Novarnik took the title at 120, and the Hawks’ Austin Clayton lost in the final at 182. Middletown’s Luis Estrada defeated St. Georges’ Danny Rankin in the 106 final, and the Cavaliers’ Dante Immediato lost in the 126 final. Appo’s Daniel Blaasch lost in the championship match at 160.

Heating up at Haverford

Padua easily won the girls title at the second N5CTA Winter Series indoor track and field meet on Sunday. The Pandas scored 160 points to leave runner-up Tatnall (72) and Smyrna (71) behind.

Middletown’s Daija Lampkin won the girls 400 meters in 57.60 seconds, the sixth-fastest Delaware time ever. Lampkin also won the 55 meters in 7.16 seconds.

Christina Allen (200 and long jump) was a double winner for Padua. The Pandas also got individual victories from Lydia Olivere (800), Cameron Lucey (55-meter hurdles) and Arryana Daniels (triple jump) and won the 4×400 relay.

Other girls winners were Tatnall’s Keelin Hays (1,600) and Kayla Woods (high jump), Tower Hill’s Isabelle Pilson (3,200) and Smyrna’s Myrissa McFolling-Young (shot put). Middletown won the 4×200 relay, and DMA took the 4×800 relay.

Appoquinimink scored 78 points to win a tight boys team race. Smyrna (78) was second, followed by A.I. du Pont (71), Tatnall (69) and Caravel (62).

Charter of Wilmington’s Roy Lee swept the 200 and 400 meters, and A.I. du Pont’s Tahaire Riley was a double winner in the 55-meter hurdles and high jump.

Other boys individual winners were Tatnall’s Noah McFoy (800) and Michael Flanagan (3,200), DMA’s Brian Poad (55 meters) and Padraig Hahn (1,600), Appo’s Jermaine Chadband (long jump), Smyrna’s Moses Carter (triple jump) and A.I.’s Noah Agwu (shot put).

A.I. du Pont won the boys 4×200 and 4×800 relays, and Appo took the 4×400.

Rounding it up

— Also in indoor track, Salesianum’s Andrew Hally won the invitational 2-mile run at the Hispanic Games at The Armory in New York City by more than seven seconds. His time of 9:19.89 ranks second all-time in Delaware. Charter’s Kevin Murray finished seventh in the invitational mile in 4:19.85 – sixth on the state’s all-time list.

— The Hodgson boys basketball team used an ineligible player in its first five games and has forfeited four victories – against St. Thomas More, Appoquinimink, Howard and Brandywine.

— The Dover boys basketball team has picked up a victory to improve to 6-3, as Slam Dunk to the Beach opponent Friendship Collegiate Academy of Washington, D.C., has forfeited.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ