WILMINGTON — St. Elizabeth combined hot outside shooting with an ability to drive and slash in the paint as the Vikings defeated Archmere, 62-45, in boys basketball Feb. 20 at the St. E Center. It was the fourth straight win for the Vikings, who began the year 1-3.
The Vikings dialed long distance early on, opening senior night with three-point shots from seniors Blake Bryant and Jaden Dickerson sandwiched around a driving layup by the Auks’ Chris Albero. St. Elizabeth showed diversity in its offense after that, consistently driving into the lane for high-percentage opportunities and second chances.
Jermai Herring scored six points in the first, while Dickerson added an old-fashioned three-point play. The Auks also had open looks near the basket, but they missed several short attempts and found themselves down, 21-12, after one period.
Bryant kept the pressure on for the Vikings in the second quarter, knocking down two more triples. Jake Shelton got in on the three-point action himself after Bryant’s pair of threes. St. Elizabeth scored nine straight on threes, Albero closed out the Auks’ first half with a three-pointer of his own, but it was one of just three field goals Archmere managed in second. They trailed by 19 at the half.
The Auks started converting some of their open looks into points after the break, getting field goals on layups and a couple of mid-range jumpers from Matthew Dellose, and they cut the Vikings’ lead to 13 at one point. Albero and Matthew McCarthy both hit threes in the fourth, but the Vikings, with Dickerson and Herring doing most of the scoring, did not let the lead dip any lower than that 13.
Dickerson scored 22 to lead the Vikings, who improved to 5-3. Bryant had 16, and Herring contributed 14. St. Elizabeth will host Saint Mark’s on Monday at 5 p.m.
The Auks (9-2) got 16 points from Albero. Archmere, which had won six straight coming into this one, hosts Red Lion on Monday at 6:15 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
