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Indians trounce Lake Forest and slip by Seaford, move to 7-2 in the South
By Ryan Saxton
Staff Reporter
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Coastal Point • JESSE PRYOR
The Indians trounced Lake Forest on Thursday, Jan. 31, 76-39. The win combined with a win against Seaford on Tuesday, Feb. 5, puts the Indians at 7-2 in their division and 9-7 for the season.
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Record-setting scoring and minor defensive adjustments helped propel Indian River hoops a little further this week. Phil Mead’s Indians turned up their performance, recovering from a six-game deficit through most of January. Indian River boys basketball is back on track, tallying crucial conference wins their past two games against Lake Forest on Thursday, Jan. 31, and Seaford on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Sweeping two of the Henlopen South rivals this year helped improve the Indians’ conference record to 7-2, only faltering against Woodbridge and Milford. The Indians are now 9-7 on the season, a record that fails to show their competitiveness against other teams in the South.
The Indians overcame Lake Forest this week with a devastating 76-39 win and snuck away from Seaford, 80-75.
Tuesday’s nail-biter saw the Seaford Blue Jays out ahead in the first quarter, with each team draining 18 points in the second. The Indians outscored Seaford by nine in the second half to lock down the win.
Deshawn Godwin highlighted the victory with 30 points for the Indians, a career best.
“[Godwin] played very well in Tuesday’s game,” said Mead. “About 20 of those points were off of strong defensive plays. He really hustled out there and did what he needed to do.”
Indian River was 10 for 16 from the free-throw line on Thursday. Guard Tyree Oliver netted a couple of threes, contributing a total of 15 points in the victory, while Jeremy Purnell racked 14 of his own. Keion Sturgis dropped 11 points for the Indians, and Cory Myles scored six.
Communication and rebounding had been among Mead’s top priorities going into the past two games.
“We still have some things to look at with our rebounding,” he said. “We’re doing alright, but it could be better.”
As for the chatter — which the team had been lacking lately — the Indians presented a man-to-man defense against Seaford rather than zone, so the need for better communication didn’t present itself.
Indian River will look to keep their momentum going as they round out their last five regular-season games. They will host Woodbridge for the rival’s second season match-up before preparing for three consecutive road games, against Sussex Central (Monday, Feb. 11, at 7:15 p.m. — a make-up), Dover (Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7:15 p.m.) and Laurel (Friday, Feb. 15, at 7:15 p.m.).
Mead has put the last confrontation with Woodbridge behind him.
“They’re an extremely strong team,” he said. “We have the opportunity, though. Our guys have to be in the game from the start. We can’t afford to come out flat.”
The Indians will host Delmar on Tuesday, Feb. 19, closing their season with two more potential conference victories.
“I’m really hoping we can make it to the state tournament,” said Mead. “The guys have played well, and our team’s done well in the south. In order to guarantee a spot this year, we really need to stay on our game and finish with some wins.”
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