One of the biggest rivalries in Delaware County took place on the court Dec. 9. Fans from both teams created an environment at Yorktown High School that gave the game an extra spark.
“It was a great high school basketball atmosphere just like it should be,” Yorktown head coach Matt Moulton said. “Just a classic Delaware County basketball matchup.”
In the end, the Yorktown Tigers defeated the Delta Eagles 49-39.
The contest started off with energetic play. Not even twenty seconds into the game, Delta senior guard Caleb Elliot dove to the ground as he tried to steal a ball from a Tiger. Elliot thought the energy was different because of the new starting lineup.
“We had a new starting lineup that brought that,” he said. “Some guys that can’t make their own plays but more for others and that helped everyone rally around us.”
It was imminent in the first quarter that the foul score would be high, and that was a trend that carried on in the entire game.
After the final buzzer, the Tigers (3-0, 1-0 HHC) had attempted 35 free throws compared to Delta’s 13. The Tigers converted on 20 of their attempts (57 percent) while the Eagles (2-2, 0-0 HHC) only hit six (46 percent)
Yorktown junior guard Jacob Grim talked about his team’s success from the line.
“Shooting free throws every day in practice, it really does a lot," he said. “It shows in the game when you're getting in tough situations in close games, free throws are what it comes down to.”
At halftime, the Tigers only led 15-13. But after taking a lead in the third quarter, they never let Delta get a chance at coming back.
Senior guard Aj Dunn led the Tigers with 23 points and Grim followed with 16.
“We've kind of struggled in the past against Delta, so this game means a lot,” Dunn said.
For the visiting Eagles, Jackson Wors led the charge with 12 points. But for head coach Mark Detweiler, his team needs to fix some problems.
“That's two games in a row where they [Yorktown] shot 35 free throws and our last opponent [Wabash] shot 27,” he said. “I'm no math major, but we shot nine and 13 in the last two games.”
But it’s not just the free throw shooting that Detweiler wants fixed.
“Our opponent is willing to run a deep offense,” he said. “We break down defensively and we foul and are still too reckless. We’re just not disciplined enough to win games like that.”
Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ZachCarter85.
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