WILMINGTON – The St. Elizabeth boys basketball team has multiple scoring options, and on Dec. 29 all of them were on display. The Vikings scored inside and outside, in transition and the halfcourt, on the way to a 77-52 victory over Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) in the opening round of the Viking Invitational at the St. E Center.
St. Elizabeth will meet Unionville (Pa.) on Monday at 7 p.m. in the final of the Power Bracket.
The game began more than two hours after the scheduled start following a double-overtime game and a four-overtime game earlier in the afternoon, but that had no effect on the Vikings. Kenny Hunter Jr. opened the scoring with a short jumper in the first minute, a harbinger of what was to come from the St. E’s forward. He was joined in the scoring column by Steven Nixon Jr., who scored after an offensive rebound against the bigger Lions squad.
Nixon made a living going inside all night. In the first quarter, he had another field goal, and he went to the line twice after being fouled while shooting. When the Vikings were not weaving toward the hoop, they sent it outside to Kiyen Alexander, who drained a pair of three-point shots. The lead was 21-10 after a quarter.
Bishop Loughlin, down from Brooklyn, picked up its scoring in the second quarter, led by Marlon Martinez, but the Vikings just would not cool off. DeShaun Holden drove the lane on several occasions on his way to eight points in the quarter, and Hunter kept up his hot shooting, including a three-pointer. St. Elizabeth added five points to its lead by halftime.
Nixon brought the crowd to its feet midway through the third after a Vikings steal at one end resulted in a dunk at the other. That boosted the lead to 50-30, but the Lions responded. They scored the next nine points, mainly inside, with Martinez and Papa Diop doing most of the scoring, including Diop’s second dunk of the night. Holden ended the run with a runner, and after a miss the next time down the court, Hunter grabbed an offensive board and scored while being fouled. His second old-fashioned three-pointer of the quarter pushed the lead back to 16, which is where it was at the end of the third.
The Vikings were lights out from the field in the fourth as the lead grew. They made nine field goals in the final eight minutes, including four from distance. Two of those belonged to Masen Price, who led the way with eight points in the fourth.
Four Vikings finished in double figures, led by Hunter with 19. Holden had 17, Alexander added 15, and Nixon had 12. St. Elizabeth improved to 3-1.
Martinez led the Lions with 14. Bishop Loughlin will meet L’Academia of Lancaster, Pa., at 1 p.m. on Monday.
