ALAPOCAS — Archmere’s boys basketball team endured a challenging first half against Wilmington Friends on Feb. 10, and the Auks were never able to rebound as the Quakers went on to a 35-27 victory. The loss snapped a six-game Auks winning streak.
The teams combined for eight points in the first quarter, and the Auks managed just four in the first half. The trailed by only 10, however, as Friends also struggled from the field. The last six of those came from Andrew McKenzie, whose two three-point shots extended the Quakers’ lead from four to 10.
Friends’ significant rebounding edge, combined with cold shooting from the Auks, contributed to an 11-point advantage for the home team in the middle of the third quarter. But a Jon Dearing baseline jumper, followed by a steal and transition layup by Chris Albero, knocked four points off that. After a Friends timeout, Scott Lucarelli brought the Auks back to within four when he deposited an offensive rebound.
But the Quakers answered. Robby Tattersall rebounded his own miss and put it in, and McKenzie made two technical foul shots. Jackson Redd added two more on a slashing floater, and the run reached six points. Albero sank a mid-range jumper with a few seconds remaining to close out the scoring in the third, and the Friends’ lead was eight.
Archmere cut a few points off the lead in the fourth, and the Quakers seemed content to milk the clock as much as possible. Dearing’s second-chance field goal with 2:20 to go made the score 31-25, and the Auks got one point closer on a Lucarelli free throw with 2:14 on the clock.
Missed free throws by the Quakers kept the Auks close, but they just couldn’t make the shots to draw even. Archmere pressured the Quakers into a few turnovers, but Friends did get one big basket off an inbounds play when Robert Toogood snuck behind the defense for a big layup that pushed the lead back to eight.
McKenzie was the only player in double figures; he had 16. Tattersall added nine. The Quakers (7-7) play the third of six straight home games on Saturday at 1 p.m. against First State Military.
For the Auks, Albero and Matt Dellose each scored seven. Archmere fell to 9-4 and hosts Delaware Military on Saturday at 1 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
