CLAYMONT — Archmere scored the first 10 points of the game and controlled the action for all four quarters in a 69-51 boys basketball victory over Brandywine on Jan. 16 at Moglia Fieldhouse. The 69 points marked the Auks’ highest score of the season.
The Auks set the tone immediately after controlling the opening tip. John Orsini (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) drained a three-point shot for the first points, and after a Bulldogs turnover, Khaleef Wilson Jr. his a triple of his own. Wilson and Orsini both scored on layups, with Kevin Kozicki (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) getting an assist on each bucket. The lead grew to 12 when Wilson intercepted a Brandywine pass and went the length of the floor for a dunk, thrilling the Archmere student section.
Brandywine found its shot a bit in the second quarter, with Dadrien Howell and Jayden Smith providing most of their offense. But Archmere wouldn’t let the Bulldogs get the deficit into single digits during the rest of the first half. The Auks gave up few second-chance opportunities, and their defense frustrated Brandywine much of the evening.
Howell scored the first field goal of the second half to draw the Bulldogs within nine, but the next eight points belonged to Archmere. Wilson made a three, and he followed that with an assist on a layup by Kozicki. Orsini then saved a long pass from going out of bounds, and he threw the ball directly to Wilson, whose three-pointer increased the lead to 37-20.
A few missed Auks shots helped the Bulldogs chip away slightly at the lead. Andrew Kriss’ layup — on a possession kept alive by three Brandywine offensive rebounds — ended a 6-0 run for the Bulldogs, but Ryan Hagenberg (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) ended that by dropping in a layup while taking some contact. The Auks closed out the third by scoring eight of the quarter’s final 10 points.
The teams raced up and down the court for much of the fourth quarter, with the Auks’ lead topping out at 23. The Auks and their schoolmates saved their biggest cheer for the final point of the night, when senior Colin McDaniel hit a free throw.
Orsini led three Auks in double figures with 19. Wilson had 16, and Kozicki added 10. Archmere (8-0) concludes a four-game homestand on Janj. 20 against St. Elizabeth in a key Diamond State Athletic Conference meeting.
Howell led the Bulldogs with 26, and Smith had 10. Brandywine (1-10) is also back on Jan. 20, visiting Glasgow for a 4:45 p.m. tip.
Photos by Mike Lang.
