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