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