CLAYMONT — Archmere shot their way to a 24-15 halftime lead over Tatnall in a boys basketball game on Jan. 7, then banished any thoughts of a Hornets comeback with a ball-control second half. The strategy paid off as the Auks returned to the win column with a 41-29 victory over Tatnall.
Archmere killed a minute to open the second half before turning the ball over, and Isaiah Sales made them pay with a three-pointer. But the Auks’ Matt McCarthy, off to a hot-shooting start this season, answered immediately with his third three of the afternoon to maintain the nine-point advantage.
The Auks would manage just one other field goal in the third, as Chris Albero followed McCarthy with a layup. But the Hornets were unable to cut into the deficit, and, in fact, found themselves down by 14 heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter began similarly to the third, with the Auks in possession and burning nearly 60 seconds of the eight minutes. This time, however, the possession ended with a McCarthy reverse layup. Matt Homer got those points back for the Hornets on a transition layup, but Alex MacWilliams gave the Auks their biggest lead of the day at 17 points with a little more than two minutes to go. Tatnall scored six of the final seven points to shrink the final gap a bit.
McCarthy had 23 to lead all scorers. Charlie Malloy had eight, all in the first half. Archmere (3-2) returns to action on Monday at 6:15 p.m. against First State Military.
For the Hornets, Sales had 11. Tatnall (5-3) travels to Sanford on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. tip.
All photos by Mike Lang.
