Mens Basketball is Heating Up
In Short: Cape Fear goes 2 for 2 on their home court to cap off their first week of play in December.
Highlights:
Sea Devils Men's Basketball worked together across the entirety of their depth chart to defeat both the Hosanna Warbirds and the Pitt Bulldogs this past week - running up their record to a steady 4-4 moving into this week's coming matchups.
Cape Fear quickly began chipping away at the Warbirds on Thursday night and eventually defeated Hosanna with no room to spare. While one would expect taking time off for the Thanksgiving holiday would slow down any team, the Sea Devils showed absolutely no signs of fatigue the entire game - and with continuous selfless plays both in transition and in assisting each other with dramatic alley-oops and other scoring opportunities.
The Sea Devils successfully utilized the wide range of talent throughout their entire bench to earn them their first win of the month on Thursday evening. Returning Sophomore Daniel Ransom was credited for numerous steals and fast break assists to his teammates throughout the game, while Jalen Joiner stepped onto the court for the first time this season due to previous injury and was an impact player not only in stats, but also in hard work and positive energy across the floor.
Moving into Saturday afternoon's matchup, this one hit close to home as Assistant Coach Mason Mullins went head-to-head with his father, Darrick Mullins, as the Head Coach of the Pitt Men's Basketball program in his 11th season.
Not only was this matchup a family affair, but also a record-breaking day for Sophomore Guard Keishon Porter who scored 41 points throughout the course of the game - earning him the 2nd highest single game points scored record in the Sea Devils Athletics record books. Porter trails 1st place record holder Monquel Pegues by only one point as Pegues earned 42 points in February of 2007.
That being said, the Pitt Bulldogs did not go quietly. Every time Cape Fear pushed the pace on offense, the Bulldogs were ready to counterattack and draw fouls against the Sea Devils at any available opportunity. Both teams played with a physicality and finesse that made the matchup enjoyable to watch regardless of team affiliation.
The running theme to Cape Fear's success was their ability to a) finish strong to earn points on offense and b) lock in defensively to force turnovers and repeat the cycle again. Korey Richardson was an integral part of forcing those turnovers and setting up his teammates for scoring opportunities left and right. "Your team is often only as good as your point guard, and I feel as though he Quarterbacked the team today," remarks Head Coach Mark Lane.
AJ Thompson and Josh Laney also continued to create sparks on offense on the outside of the paint while Daniel Ransom continues to hustle and make plays with every opportunity given to him.
"Both games were a total team effort," says Mark Lane. "Pitt was a very competitive team and that is a great game to build on moving into Wednesday night. We're very proud of all the guys and we will continue to take things one game at a time."
Up Next: Cape Fear will take on the Wake Tech Eagles back in the Schwartz Center on Wednesday, December 7th at 6PM.
