CAMDEN – Cape Henlopen put it all together on Wednesday night.
The 17th seed in the DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament showed just how scary of an opponent it can be, seizing the lead midway through the first quarter and pulling away for a 71-53 road victory over No. 16 Caesar Rodney in the opening round.
The Vikings (15-6) have won 11 of their last 13 games. Cape shot 54.7 percent from the floor in this one and will take a lot of momentum into Friday night’s second-round game at top-seeded Mount Pleasant.
“Our record, to me, is meaningless,” Vikings coach Stephen Re said. “It’s all about just trying to get into the playoffs. And then when you get in the playoffs, hopefully, you have a group that matures at the right time and can peak at the right time, and you can put together a performance like we did tonight.”
It was the third meeting between the Henlopen North rivals this year, with each winning easily on its home court. Randy Rickards had only three points in the Vikings’ 73-62 loss at CR on Jan. 27, but this time the 6-foot-5 junior erupted for 28 points and 11 rebounds.
“Last time, I didn’t play well in this gym,” Rickards said. “I didn’t think I performed really well. Coach talked to me… and he was like, ‘You’ve got to come out and show everybody that you’re the best player on the court every night.’”
It was close early, with the Riders (14-7) taking an 8-7 lead on two free throws by Jaquan Hooks. But Cape closed the first quarter on a 13-3 run, with freshman Sh’Kai Chandler coming off the bench to bomb back-to-back 3-pointers for a 20-11 lead.
“When we can have success early, defensively we’re going to be ready,” Re said. “It’s a matter of us being able to execute and make some shots.”
The Vikings kept making shots in the second quarter. Ian Robertson hit a baseline jumper, Jerry Harden popped a 3 from the left corner and Rickards scored on an offensive rebound and steal and layup to push Cape’s advantage to 29-15.
“We’ve been shooting well at practice,” Rickards said. “We’ve been grinding it out, fighting, picking up the intensity level at practice.”
The Vikings led 34-22 at the half, and CR could get no closer than eight the rest of the way. Robertson (16 points, seven rebounds) delivered an exclamation point with a dunk that made it 69-47 with 1:07 to play.
Hooks led the Riders with 15 points. Shaft Clark added 12 points and 12 boards off the bench.
Cape now faces a long trip to Mount Pleasant, but the Vikings have seen the Green Knights before. Cape took a 32-28 lead into the fourth quarter at Slam Dunk to the Beach on Dec. 27, only to see Mount Pleasant rally for a 48-42 win.
“The bounce of the ball could have gone either way,” Re said. “We weren’t mature back then. We’re a different team today. I like us. I like us right now.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
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Cape Henlopen’s Randy Rickards (5) with a basket in their win over Caesar Rodney at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Rasheed Woods (3) dribbles down the court around Caesar Rodney’s Davione Robinson (3) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Randy Rickards (5) drives past Caesar Rodney’s Shaft Clark (15) for a layup at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson (32) dives for a loose ball in their win over Caesar Rodney at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Jerry Harden (1) goes up for a shot at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Cory Barnes (2) reaches to stop a layup attempt by Caesar Rodney’s Jaquan Hooks (10) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson (32) with a shot over Caesar Rodney’s Joseph Williams (32) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Cory Barnes (2) dribbles around Caesar Rodney’s defense at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Randy Rickards (5) drives to the hoop at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Randy Rickards (5) with the ball at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Cory Barnes (2) with a shot at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson (32) drives to basket past Caesar Rodney’s Kairi Buie (13) and Timothy Spence (21) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson (32) drives to basket past Caesar Rodney’s Kairi Buie (13) and Timothy Spence (21) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Kairi Buie (13) with a shot at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School against Cape Henlopen.
Caesar Rodney’s Jaquan Hooks (10) shoots the ball over Cape Henlopen’s Jerry Harden (1) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Davione Robinson (3) jumps past Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson (32) for a shot at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Joseph Williams (32) and Cape Henlopen’s Randy Rickards (5) jump for the ball during the opening tip off at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Timothy Spence (21) gets stopped by Cape Henlopen’s Ian Robertson (32) and teammate Randy Rickards (5) during the first period at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Nhaighere Wills (11) dribbles down the court through Cape Henlopen’s defense at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Shaft Clark (15) reaches to stop a shot by Cape Henlopen’s Randy Rickards (5) at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.
Caesar Rodney’s Timothy Spence (21) tries to dribble through Cape Henlopen’s defense at the first round of DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament at Caesar Rodney High School.