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.”