WILMINGTON — Nasir Brown scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as St. Elizabeth came back from as many as nine points down to edge Newark Charter, 64-60, on Jan. 28 at the St. E Center.
The Patriots raced out to a 17-10 lead in the first quarter. Brett Callahan hit two big three-pointers, and Marvin Nwanekwu slammed a high-flying dunk. Jaden Dickerson helped keep the Vikings close, scoring five points in the opening stanza. Newark Charter received two big baskets from Brett Lesher in the second, but Colin Hockenbrock put up seven for the Vikings, who cut the Patriots’ lead to 33-30 at halftime.
Dickerson was aggressive in the third quarter, helping St. Elizabeth grab a short-lived 38-36 advantage on a driving layup. Nwanekwu answered, scoring four straight points to help the Patriots regain a 42-40 lead heading into the final stanza.
Brown led a quick 7-0 run to start the fourth, scoring on a pair of layups and three free throws. The Vikings’ run grew to 15-5 as Kye Rawls hit a jumper, and Hockenbrock had a big putback to make it 55-47 Vikings with 2:30 left. Brown and Rawls combined to hit 10 of 14 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Patriots.
The Vikings (10-1) got 25 points from Brown. Dickerson had 16, while Hockenbrock added 11. St. Elizabeth hosts Caravel on Thursday night at 7:15.
The Patriots (8-4) were led by Nwanekwu, who had 16 points. Lesher had 13, and Timothy Cooper contributed 10. They travel to Delaware Military on Thursday for a 5:15 tip.
