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Mount Pleasant’s Rob Myrick (5) is whistled for charging on a second-quarter drive against Bishop O’Connell on Sunday at Slam Dunk to the Beach.
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Mt. Pleasant’s Raheim Burnett drives to the basket against Bishop O’Connell during the Slam Dunk to the Beach.
LEWES– It wasn’t a win, but Mount Pleasant boys basketball coach Lisa Sullivan thought it was a statement.
The Green Knights – Delaware’s top-ranked team – went toe-to-toe with a much larger opponent in Bishop O’Connell of Arlington, Va., on Sunday. Mount Pleasant led for much of the first half, but the Knights were too much in the end and held on for a 53-46 victory at Slam Dunk to the Beach at Cape Henlopen High.
“We proved that we can play with anybody, and we battled. We’ve got a lot of heart,” Sullivan said. “They were taller, a little stronger at every position, but we were scrappy. We gave them our best shot.”
Mount Pleasant (5-1) fell behind 6-2 early, then scored the next nine points. Raheim Burnett made a 3-pointer and a layup, KVonn Cramer scored on a fast break and Richard Caldwell scored on a driving layup to push the Green Knights up 11-6 with 3:29 left in the first quarter.
Both teams went on short scoring runs through the rest of the first half, with Mount Pleasant leading 21-19 at halftime. Caldwell dropped a 3 and Rob Myrick hit a short jumper to push the Green Knights’ lead to 26-19 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
But Bishop O’Connell cranked it up, closing the quarter on a 19-4 run. Two big dunks from 6-foot-8 junior center Nate Watson pushed the visitors from Virginia to a 38-30 lead.
“We did a nice job executing, but then when we got shots we didn’t finish,” Sullivan said. “When you get an open layup, you’ve got to make the open layup. When you get foul shots, you’ve got to make foul shots.”
The Knights built the advantage to 48-35 with 3:48 left, but Sharif Holland tried to shoot Mount Pleasant back into it. The 6-1 senior hit three 3-pointers – including one from each corner – and Myrick scored a fast-break layup to pull the Green Knights within 50-46 with 1:33 to go.
“My teammates were looking for me,” Holland said. “… My teammates want me to shoot the ball, and I shoot it. They’ve got confidence in me.”
Mount Pleasant could get no closer, but Sullivan was happy with the effort. Caldwell led the Green Knights with 14 points, Holland had 11 and Burnett scored nine before fouling out late.
“As long as we play hard, we can compete against anybody in the country,” Burnett said. “That’s what we’re going to take out of it, play hard and stay together.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
