Wilmington, NC - Cape Fear men's basketball won on Homecoming day, defeating Denmark Technical College 114-92. Jacque Brown led all scorers with 26 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds.
Despite the final score, it was a rough start for the Sea Devils, who found it difficult on the offensive end in the early minutes. Denmark took the early lead, but Cape Fear was able to settle, and take the lead five minutes into the half.
DeVarte Watson was the early scoring leader for the home team, scoring 10 points of the team's first 15 points. He was active on the offensive glass and in the post, and finished the game with 13 points.
Head coach Ryan Mantlo liked what he saw from Watson in the first half, and hopes he can continue to do so.
"I thought he was aggressive, he was looking for his shot, and he was on-balance. He's capable of doing that every night, it's just a matter of continuing to do it."
Watson's play helped Cape Fear gain an eight point lead. They maintained a solid lead for the next portion of the game, but the Panthers hung around by commanding the offensive glass. Denmark managed to cut the lead to four, but the Sea Devils were able to find their offense again, and five straight points from Jacque Brown pushed their lead to double digits. Trevor Willis then got involved, knocking down his first three 3-pointers, and helping them extend their lead to 17 with around two minutes remaining.
The Sea Devils held off a late push from Denmark, and entered halftime leading by 16. They benefited from 13 Panthers turnovers, which resulted in 19 points on the other end.
The second half started well, as Cape Fear outscored Denmark 18-6 in the first four minutes. Turnovers continued to plague the Panthers, and Sea Devils capitalized.
Cape Fear's lead soon grew to 25, making for a fairly comfortable second half. They commanded the paint, scoring 52 points, and didn't let the Panthers get within 20 points until the final two minutes.
While the result was never really in doubt, coach Mantlo still thinks his team has room for improvement.
"It was still Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We've got to get better and play 40 minutes if we are going to improve."
After a strong first half, Brown continued to lead the home team, knocking down a couple of 3-pointers to go with his total of five for the game. But Brown wasn't the only one finding success from the beyond the arc, as Willis finished, 4-7, and Trae Bryant knocked down two of his own.
Along with Brown's 26, the Sea Devils got solid outings from Willis, who finished with 18 points, along with 15 points a piece from Alonzo Tyson and Jerick Haynes. They shot 60 percent from the field as a team, and 66.7 percent from the 3-point line.
The win improves Cape Fear to 22-7 on the season, and 6-5 in conference play.
Their next game is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1st, where they will take on Clinton Junior College in the final home game of the regular season. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Nick Denning
