MUNCIE, IN- One of the biggest rivalries in Delaware County took the court Friday night as the Yorktown Tigers (1-2) and the Delta Eagles (4-0) were set to do battle. The Eagles looked to halt a two-game skid in the series. Before the game, the Eagles’ varsity players were in suits.
“Look good, feel good, play good," Delta senior Jackson Wors said.
The stage was set for an action-packed night of Indiana high school basketball. The stands were filled to the brim, and the crowd was floored with anticipation. The game lived up to all of the hype, coming down to the wire with the Eagles pulling out a narrow 54-52 victory.
The contest started with a bang with both teams racing up and down the floor. Fouls were being called early and often. One call in particular drew the attention of Delta head coach Mark Detweiler. Delta senior Kaiden Bond was on a fast break as Yorktown senior Mason Moulton went up for the block and made heavy contact with Bond. Yet there was no whistle. Detweiler was infuriated with the no-call, ripping off his suit jacket and yelling at the officials.
“That was the worst non-call I’ve seen because Bond got his head taken off,” Detweiler said. “I needed to vent to them to let them know I was not thrilled about that call.”
Yorktown’s defense was the story of the first quarter as the Tigers forced multiple turnovers early and scored many of their first-quarter points on the fast break. Delta seemed taken aback by the Tigers’ defensive pressure and couldn’t get anything to fall on the offensive end of the floor.
For the green and black, their offense was flowing without much resistance. Seniors Kieran Tewari and Jacob Grim were the head honchos for Yorktown on that end leading the way with 22 and 11 points respectively.
“We have enough senior and junior experience that we’ve been able to make up for [former senior AJ Dunns’] absence and you want those seniors to be able to step up,” Yorktown head coach Matt Moulton said.
The second quarter wasn’t much different as the officiating continued to be disputed by the Delta fans and staff as both voiced their displeasure towards the referees.
Yorktown didn’t take their foot off the gas, continuing to push the pace offensively. The Eagles’ leading scorer on the season, senior D’Amare Hood, was limited to just two points in the half.
The lone bright spot for the white and gold in the early going was senior Jackson Wors who accumulated 23 points by the end of the game.
“I thought tonight he understood when to give it up and when to attack,” Detweiler said. “He was relentless on getting to the rim and he was phenomenal.”
To close out the opening half, Grim nailed a three-point basket as time expired. He chipped in nine points in the half to help the green and black to a dominant first period.
“It wasn’t anything in particular. We just had a great week of practice,” Moulton said. “We executed, and ran our offense and played good, hard-nosed, Yorktown defense.”
To start the second half, Delta came out looking to flip the script on the Tigers, using some pace of their own to try and kick-start their offense. Early on it seemed to be effective as within the first four minutes of the third quarter the Eagles had cut the lead to eight points.
The Delta crowd was re-energized with an ensuing comeback on the horizon. The momentum stayed with the Eagles as the gap closed rapidly.
“You wouldn’t find another gym across Indiana tonight that was this loud,” Wors said. “That kind of an atmosphere was amazing.”
After multiple crossovers from Delta senior Jonny Manor and junior Jordan Furney, which caused defenders to topple, a corner three from Hood forced a Tiger timeout with the Eagle crowd bearing down on the Tigers with the game now tied late in the third.
“We lost focus on defense,” Grim said. “We didn’t play a lot of help side defense. It was the whole team and after the break, we couldn’t keep the streak going [from the first half].”
To close the third the Tigers needed any kind of momentum they could muster as they were now trailing by two. Tewari took a heavily contested three and hit nothing but net to recapture the lead heading into the final period.
As the fourth quarter opened, there was noticeable tension in the gym with Yorktown clinging to a one-point lead.
@DeltaEagles_ Jackson Wors hits the game winner. @dn_sports @gingninj63 pic.twitter.com/gJ5nWwFrh7
— Zach Carter (@ZachCarter85) December 9, 2023
This quarter was much different than the first three as the teams went back and forth. Neither competitor could capture momentum for an extended amount of time.
It came down to the final minute of play as it was knotted 52-52. Yorktown had a chance to take the lead ion a fast break opportunity by Moulton, but he had his shot blocked by Hood. This gave Delta a chance to win the game.
In the final seconds, Bond drove to the basket and was blocked, but Wors flew in for the offensive rebound and hit the layup at the buzzer.
“It felt pretty good,” Wors said. “It’s always exciting when you can do something like that.”
The last-second loss for Yorktown is a hard pill to swallow, but with a quick turnaround, they know they can’t linger on the emotions of this game for very long.
“You go home and sleep,” Grim said. “You get a chance to play basketball every other day. That’s what’s great about this game. Even if you lose, you’ve got another game to play.”
Both teams will play in the inaugural Fieldhouse Classic on Saturday at Muncie Central. Yorktown is slated for a 3:30 tip against Pike (1-1) while Delta will have a matchup with Tipton (4-0). The game is set to tip at 7:30.
Contact David Moore with comments at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63
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